George Toye

Collaborative Mechatronic System Design

Integrated product and process development is accomplished by multidisciplinary teams To support the team approach we have de veloped ICM the Interdisciplinary Communication Medium It accommodates and integrates many perspectives within a design and manufactur ing enterprise The ICM prototype integrates a shared graphic modeling environment and network based services The graphics include 3D models of evolving designs and network based services include knowledge-based reasoning tools that critique the performance of the proposed device ICM implements an iterative communication cycle in which team members (1) propose form models in a shared graphic modeling en vironment, (2) interpret the shared graphic models as semantic discipline models (3) gather information by using the discipline models to cus tomize their search for additional discipline information (4) critique the discipline models to derive behavior and compare it to function (5) explain the results to other members of the team and (6) route change notifications for proposed changes

Tele-service-robot: Integrating the socio-technical framework of human service through the InterNet-world-wide-web

Abstract In a recent survey of robotics in rehabilitative human service, Stanger et al. (1994) re-established the central role of task assessment in defining technical R&D priorities. Among their key findings, and central to the thesis of this paper, is the re-affirmation that engineers and scientists, intent on being helpful, must first assess just who is being served, where they are, what they are trying to do and who is going to pay for it. Moreover, the cost associated with an integral socio-technical framework that addresses user needs for interaction, support and maintenance after the initial installation is the real driver toward adoption of robotics technology over equivalent human service.

Targeting undergraduate students for surveys: Lessons from the Academic Pathways Of People Learning Engineering Survey (APPLES)

The academic pathways of people learning engineering survey (APPLES) was deployed in April 2007 targeting cross-sectional populations from four American universities. The goal of APPLES is to validate earlier findings from the academic pathways study on factors that correlate with persistence in engineering. There is minimal literature detailing the practical process and methodology for engineering education researchers to undertake thorough, statistically-sound survey research, particularly as it relates to reaching specific student groups within the undergraduate engineering population. We outline the APPLES development methodology, and specifically the lessons learned in deploying a multi-site, medium-scale survey. This paper details our process for constructing the sampling plan and the resulting design for the APPLE survey, and addresses issues relating to working with campus liaisons, subject recruitment and deployment. Finally, we share preliminary response rates and feedback from respondents to inform a model for conducting survey design and research for engineering education researchers.

Scaling up: Taking the Academic Pathways of People Learning Engineering Survey (APPLES) national

The Academic Pathways of People Learning Engineering Survey (APPLES) was deployed for a second time in Spring 2008 to undergraduate engineering students at 21 American universities. The goal of APPLES was to corroborate and extend findings from the academic pathways study and the first deployment of APPLES (Spring 2007) on factors that correlate with persistence in engineering on a national scale. This set of deployments, which surveyed over 4,500 students, was among the largest and broadest cross-sectional surveys focusing on undergraduate engineering ever undertaken. Because there was no readily-available list of undergraduate students attending American institutions studying and intending to study engineering, we sampled by institution using institutional characteristics such as Carnegie 2000 classification. In seeking participation by a broad range of institutions, we recognized the need to vary the target student strata for recruitment by institution. In this process paper, we present an overview of our institutional sampling, discuss our student sampling and recruitment, and report response results. We extend our lessons learned from deploying the online survey at four institutions to 21 institutions, including coordination with local campus coordinators, IRB requirements, subject recruitment and deployment to build on the model for conducting survey design and research for engineering education researchers.

Assessment of technology-assisted learning in higher education: it requires new thinking by universities and colleges

The purpose of this paper is to outline some of the issues, challenges and questions facing universities and colleges as they consider the use of technology in the support of teaching and learning. The issues are difficult in that they require balanced consideration of questions such as: (i) what types of technologies improve learning?; (ii) which faculty members will adopt and experiment with technologies and how will this impact the reward system?; and (iii) which technologies can we afford and what are the hidden costs? Most of these questions remain unanswered. The authors begin by giving examples of the types of learning technologies that universities are exploring and adopting. They proceed to enumerate some of the reasons for this adoption, and then discuss the various groups who should be asking probing questions about the effectiveness of these technologies. Some of the characteristics of an evaluation plan that would address these various questions are then proposed. They conclude with several emerging models for such an evaluation plan.

Helenic fault tolerance for robots

Abstract In robot applications where the consequences of system failure are unbearable, fault tolerance is mandatory. Fault tolerant robots continue to function correctly despite component failures. Fault tolerant robots can be designed using the Helenic architecture. This architecture uses non-homogeneous functional modular redundancy and a democratic dynamic weighted voting algorithm for redundancy management to achieve fault tolerance. The benefits offered are increased reliability, maintainability, common mode failure resistance, and significant cost reductions. To demonstrate the fault tolerance capabilities of this system architecture, a 5 wheel omnidirectional mobile robot with sensors, computing elements and actuators was designed and simulated. Simulation results verify the robots ability to continue ‘correct’ operation despite internal subsystem failures.

Failure modes and effects recognition in the Tertiary Mirror Assembly design

It is desirable to expose and observe the implications of design decisions early in conceptual stages of design when the cost of design changes are relatively inexpensive. However, few quantitative design details are available at the conceptual design stages rendering traditional design analysis techniques ineffective. Using qualitative information, failure mode and effect recognition (FMER) analysis can expose many possible failure modes. In addition, it lays the foundation for the quantitative failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) employed in the later stages of design. In performing FMER for a given design, system functionality and interactions between all subcomponents become better understood. The objectives, goals, and assumptions of the design become explicitly documented in the analysis. FMER design verification is based on first principles, geometric relationships, and general information about the components. This qualitative analysis can reveal critical failures due to overconstrained objects, under-constrained motions, conflicting information, and unrecognized assumptions. The designer quickly recognizes short comings of a design and is thus better able to make revisions. The designer specifies more details, making the transition from conceptual design to detailed design. Moving from qualitative to more quantitative analysis, more thorough design validations can be performed as detailed information becomes available. The effectiveness of FMER as an early design analysis tool was demonstrated. Failure modes and effects recognition (FMER) analysis was performed on the base-line (kinematic mount concept) design of the tertiary mirror assembly (TMA) of the space infra-red telescope facility (SIRTF). The findings presented here are not intended to be critiques of the design. But they did serve to identify areas of concern to the designer.