Yee-Yeen Chu

An empirical study on knowledge integration, technology innovation and experimental practice

In the global market, inter-firm collaborative product development has become an increasingly significant business strategy for enhanced product competitiveness. Engineering knowledge is a key asset for technology-based enterprises to successfully develop new products and processes. Experimental practice is a crucial process for knowledge integration and technology innovation. This research explores this in inter-firm collaborative product development through experimental practice. We conducted a series of in-depth case studies to investigate the patterns of knowledge integration in the collaborative development of system-on-a-chip (SoC) by semiconductor firms. Our studies focused on the central interactive process for engineering applications and experimental practice to enhance knowledge integration and technology innovation for rapid development. Furthermore, we identified factors critical for experimental practice in effective engineering knowledge integration and innovation.

Intelligent Display Interface for Situation Monitoring, Management and Maintenance (M3)

Automation in power and propulsion plants, if not carefully introduced, can be a mixed blessing for the human operator. Instead of enhancing operator performance and alleviating his workload and errors, it may have quite the opposite effect. This is especially true when the information presented to the operator is ambiguous, inadequate, inefficient, or ineffective for the operator to monitor, manage, and maintain the system. To circumvent this potential problem, an “intelligent” display interface (IDI) approach is proposed to maximize the overall performance of the operator-automation system. The approach consists of (1) a repertoire of dynamic situation portrayal techniques to present timely and cognitively-compatible information necessary for the plant operation and (2) an active model-based executive program acting as a knowledge mediator which is capable of ascertaining operator states, the information relevance, causal relationships, and potential usefulness of alternative sensor sources, transmission systems, and display resources. The underlying basis for the approach is that it will provide the display interface with the knowledge of the task states and appropriate focus and response in such a manner that, when coupled with the automated functions, allows it to opportunistically convey and exchange information between the operator and the system, thereby maximizing the overall operator/system performance. This paper describes a generic IDI concept, the elements of IDI features, and suggests that the IDI design concept can provide a coherent human/automation team in the monitoring, management, and maintenance of power/propulsion plants.

Man-Machine Communication in Computer-Aided Teleoperator Control Systems*

Automated Remote Manipulation is a prime example of a new type of man-machine interaction in which the human operator must supervise and control a complex and often adaptive man-computer system. Computerized control offers the possibilities of improved performance speed and reduced operator work loads with teleoperator systems. Computers can be used at various levels of control, ranging from control augmentation, where the computer performs difficult coordinate transformations which simplify operator control requirements, through complete autonomy in which the computer performs all of the required activities with no intervention by the operator. However, with the introduction of computer-based control techniques, the communication between the operator and the teleoperator becomes an important determinant of work system performance. Rather than controlling directly every action of the manipulator, the operator of a computer-controlled manipulator plans the tasks, commands goal-directed actions, monitors task performance, and intervenes when appropriate. This paper describes an analytical and experimental study conducted by Perceptronics to investigate the effectiveness of command language structures and the methods for providing feedback information through the use of sensors and displays. The study showed that computer aiding can significantly decrease task performance time for a number of teleoperator tasks. The results also indicated that if high-level computer aiding schemes are to be effective, the design of interface and feedback display must be carefully performed to achieve simple and natural man-machine communication.

Technology Integration For A Mobile, High-performance Robotic Manipulator

This paper is directed to assessing component robotics technologies for a mobile high-performance dual manipulator. The manipulator system construct is defined in terms that allowed us to address the staged and modular integration best suited to integrated sensor and massively parallel processing capabilities. The technology development plan is then discussed. The issues related to pulling together evolving technologies currently being developed in the laboratories as well as other related efforts in the industry is also addressed. The main vehicle for purposeful integration of component robotics technologies is a detailed requirement analysis for a selected field robotic application. The complex and dexterous tasks required in coordinated mortar loading operations and maintenance functions are suggested in terms of the technological challenges posed in Superarm development. Finally, a graphics simulation and videotape of the Superarm concept demonstration is developed.