Matthew Joordens | Deakin University Waurn Ponds (original) (raw)

Papers by Matthew Joordens

Underwater robotics is a growing field in which more research is required. A literature review ha... more Underwater robotics is a growing field in which more research is required. A literature review has been conducted on underwater robotics, focusing on the swarm problem with this type of robotics to help overcome this gap. Consensus control of robotic swarms is focused on, with a brief description of formation control and how it can be applied in the underwater setting. The basic concepts behind Particle Swarm Optimization, Ant Colony Optimization, Bees Algorithm and Heterogeneous Swarms has also been presented. The problems that are associated with communicating underwater are shown, with some possible solutions to this problem also being presented. Possible future work is described to conclude the paper.

Human Activity Recognition (HAR) is a central unit to understand and predict human behavior. HAR ... more Human Activity Recognition (HAR) is a central unit to understand and predict human behavior. HAR has been used to estimate the levels of a sedentary, monitor lifestyle habits, track the levels of people's health, or build a recommendation system. Many researchers have utilized the inertial measurement unit as an input tool to explore the HAR land. The recurrence plot (RP) technique recently has its applications diverse in various areas. From the recurrence plot, a machineauto or hand-crafted approach can be used to extract feature vectors. While the machine-auto based approach has been reported in the literature, the latter hand-crafted based method has not. For that reason, this paper evaluated and demonstrated the feasibility of utilizing Recurrence Quantification Analysis (RQA), which was a typical hand-crafted method from RP, to classify human activities. A Linear Discriminant Analysis classifier yielded a 95.08% accuracy, which belonged in the top accuracy reported in the literature. Compare to the machineauto or end-to-end approach, RQA is a far less complicated and more lean system that should be further analyzed in a HAR application.

A tracking system based of the IMU8420 data logger has been created. This tracking system can be ... more A tracking system based of the IMU8420 data logger has been created. This tracking system can be used to store the various movements of different types of animal's in-between the GPS signals, leading to a much more accurate representation of what the animal is undergoing at any point in time. This data can then be used to determine the behaviors of the animals, and thus new algorithms can be generated to try and mimic this behavior in robotics. The system could be applied to a swarm of animals to determine what an entire swarm is doing, and thus new swarming algorithms can be created.

This paper investigates undergraduate programs in electrical and electronics engineering offered ... more This paper investigates undergraduate programs in electrical and electronics engineering offered by twelve universities in Australia, Asia, Europe, and America. The investigation focuses on the structure and content of the programs, and the contact hour and assessment of the subjects involved in the programs. The investigation is carried out in four stages: selection of universities, collection of data, analysis of data, and formulation of outcomes. A list of subjects is created based on the content of the programs. The average percentage coverage of each subject in the twelve programs is calculated. The subjects are then grouped into nine program components. The average percentage coverage of each component per university is calculated. For each component, the total number of contact hours for lecture, tutorial, and practical is calculated. Also, the average percentage of four assessment methods for each component is found. Discussions on the outcome of the investigation are presented.

25th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education : Engineering the Knowledge Economy: Collaboration, Engagement & Employability, 2014

BACKGROUND Engineering physics is an essential subject in any undergraduate engineering course. P... more BACKGROUND Engineering physics is an essential subject in any undergraduate engineering course. Practicals are a key component of teaching physics, especially to engineers. The "prac" session normally begins with a demonstrator giving the class a short description of the purpose and theory of the exercise, followed by instructions on how to perform the experiment. In recent years, the practical sessions in our firstyear physics course have come under increasing pressure to operate more efficiently and effectively. At the same time, it is common knowledge that the younger generation of students are increasingly looking to video presentations to learn how to complete specific tasks. PURPOSE The goal of the work was to produce video resources that would help students learn the fundamental theory and operation of the lab experiments before arriving at the practical session, saving valuable class time and reducing pressure on demonstrators. METHOD The video series was produced by the teaching and video-production teams after reviewing the content of the lab experiments. Once ready, in semester one 2014, the videos were released to all students (on-campus and off-campus) via the unit web-site. Students were instructed to watch each video prior to attending their respective lab session. Students completed the experiments and submitted standard lab reports on each. The average report marks were compared between 2014 and prior to 2014. At the end of the semester, students were asked to complete an on-line survey to collect their thoughts on the effectiveness of the video presentations. RESULTS We produced 10 video presentations for eight experiments. Our observations in the classes and results from the student survey indicate that the students were happy with the content and quality of the videos. Average marks of the lab reports indicated an improvement in average on-campus report scores from 2013 to 2014, and no change in the average scores of the off-campus students. Efficiencies in teaching were gained because the number of demonstrators per class in 2014 was half that in previous years. CONCLUSIONS We observed increased efficiency in students performing the experiments, reduced demonstrator costs, and no reduction in students' academic performance. Students welcomed the videos as a new learning resource. KEY WORDS Engineering practicals, flipping the classroom, cloud teaching, video teaching.

IEEE Sensors Journal, 2021

With the advancements of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, applications of battery powered... more With the advancements of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, applications of battery powered machine vision based IoT devices is rapidly growing. While numerous research works are being conducted to develop low power hardware solutions for IoT devices, image capture and image processing remain high power demanding processes leading to a short battery life. However, the power consumption of the machine vision based IoT devices can be minimized by the careful optimization of the hardware components that are used is these devices. In this article, we present a review of low power machine vision hardware components for the IoT applications. A guide to selecting the optimum processors and image sensors for a given battery powered machine vision based IoT device is presented. Next, the factors that must be considered when selecting processors and image sensors for a given IoT application are discussed, and selection criteria for the processors and image sensors are established. Then, the current commercially available hardware components are reviewed in accordance with the established selection criteria. Finally, the research trends in the field of battery powered machine vision based IoT devices are discussed, and the potential future research directions in the field are presented.

IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 2021

2015 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2015

This paper focuses on evaluation of student learning outcomes in fourth year engineering mechatro... more This paper focuses on evaluation of student learning outcomes in fourth year engineering mechatronics through design based learning curriculum. The purpose of all engineering degrees is to provide strong grounding with principles of engineering science and technology. By learning engineering methods and approaches in an academic environment, graduates can enter the world of work and tackle real world problems with innovation and creativity. In many cases, academic staff are responsible for driving and setting high expectations in their classrooms. Sometimes staff are expected to teach subjects outside their expertise. This research paper is concerned with evaluating student learning outcomes through feedback sought from students on design-based learning approach.

Context: Engineering education is embarking on a new journey, where curriculum designers are need... more Context: Engineering education is embarking on a new journey, where curriculum designers are needing evidence based research to understand how the use of 1:1 mobile devices can influence student perceptions of self-directed learning, to improve curriculum engagement and to measurable assessment outcomes. Using student perceptions of learning motivation and learning intervention theory, higher order thinking skills can be encouraged in problem-based learning. Understanding what is motivating students to learn when and using 1:1 mobile devices will help curriculum designers and facilitators to engage students. Purpose: This paper will explore survey results of a recent study, revealing how students are responding to a self-directed curriculum design where engineering students are accessing learning interventions to enhance their learning experience when using 1:1 mobile device technology. Approach: This study approach is focusing on answering the following questions: How do engineerin...

IEEE Sensors Journal, 2021

As technology advances, the places we have been able to explore have drastically increased. Howev... more As technology advances, the places we have been able to explore have drastically increased. However, the advancements in the underwater realm have staggered behind both the exploration of surface and air domains. This is due in part to the challenges that arise when placing a robot in water. One current shift has seen the use of a swarm of robots that are cheaper and are of a lower quality, that work together to accomplish a common goal, as opposed to using a single expensive robot. Swarm robotics benefits from being more tolerant of catastrophic failure and can cover large areas in smaller time frames. However, unlike other advancements in technology, underwater swarm robotics have struggled to compete with its counterparts on the surface and in the air. This is mainly due to the problems with communication underwater, the hazardous environment, the cost and difficulties with construction of underwater robots. This article conducts a literature review into the current state of underwater swarm robotics; it covers the design of the underwater robots, the methods used by the individual robot to perceive their environment, how they can localize to said environment, the methods of communication available underwater, centralized and decentralized control, the basis of swarm algorithms, the behaviors that are exhibited when a swarm works collectively and how swarms have been applied underwater.

The focus of this research paper is to illustrate st... more The focus of this research paper is to illustrate students views on design based learning, and in particular  to investigate and present how important design based learning is for a career in engineering. Students  need to  acquire  various skills by  learning  and practicing  engineering, which  is necessary to  explore themselves according to the industry requirements. However students and educators are not aware of  existing industry requirements of graduates. In learning and teaching institutions, practicing design is  one of the fundamental processes in engineering and a...

The School of Engineering and Technology at Deakin University has been delivering an eight-semest... more The School of Engineering and Technology at Deakin University has been delivering an eight-semester degree course in mechatronics for over five years. The engineering students are given a design-and-build project as a 2 credit core unit over their final two semesters. This project can be very broadly based and may not necessarily be founded in mechatronic system design. Hence, a core unit was developed that embedded the tools required for mechatronic system design. The lecture component of this unit as it was implemented presents a general summary of mechatronic design. The laboratory component of the unit requires students to apply these tools in the construction of a small mechatronic system. Previously a small autonomous mobile robot capable of performing a reasonably complex series of tasks has been specified. The success of the student's designs in the completion of their tasks and the student's feedback has shown that the unit makes a genuine contribution to their lear...

BACKGROUND OR CONTEXT: With the re-imagining of engineering education at Deakin University an opp... more BACKGROUND OR CONTEXT: With the re-imagining of engineering education at Deakin University an opportunity was presented with the ability to design purpose built spaces. With this development a review of leading practice educational spaces was undertaken specifically in a product development unit as well as a materials unit. Whilst both areas have different needs there were some common elements with the location of teaching aids, apparatus and experimental set-up and collaborative teaching spaces. PURPOSE OR GOAL: This study examined what would a best practice learning environment look like in two different disciplines and what is the connection and similarities in a problem based learning environment. A benchmarking study and literature review on best practice was undertaken; this learning space was intrinsically linked to the educational model. Aspects of the educational model have started to be implemented in this long term project APPROACH: Student perceptions were measured prima...

IEEE Sensors Journal, 2020

Since the well-established navigation systems such as GPS are ineffective in indoor environments,... more Since the well-established navigation systems such as GPS are ineffective in indoor environments, research into developing novel indoor positioning technologies has emerged in recent years. While several technologies are being investigated, a practical and reliable indoor positioning system is yet to emerge. Indoor positioning using light signals holds a great potential to provide a reliable solution to the indoor positioning problem. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the available literature on light-based indoor positioning systems. The paper establishes a classification based on the design of various light-based indoor positioning (LIP) systems, and discusses their key components including hardware, software and algorithms. The limitations and challenges of the LIP systems are discussed in details, and current published solutions are presented. The review also provides a comparison between LIP systems and other optical positioning systems, and identifies the associated research gaps. Finally, based on the identified gaps, the future research directions in both LIP systems and other optical positioning systems are presented.

KnE Engineering, 2017

Underwater robotics is currently a growing field. To be able to autonomously find and collect obj... more Underwater robotics is currently a growing field. To be able to autonomously find and collect objects on the land and in the air is a complicated problem, which is only compounded within the underwater setting. Different techniques have been developed over the years to attempt to solve this problem, many of which involve the use of expensive sensors. This paper explores a method to find the depth of an object within the underwater setting, using a single camera source and a known object. Once this known object has been found, information about other unknown objects surrounding this point can be determined, and therefore the objects can be collected.

… , 2008. WAC 2008. …, 2008

BACKGROUND OR CONTEXT: Current work in remote laboratories focuses on student interaction in a se... more BACKGROUND OR CONTEXT: Current work in remote laboratories focuses on student interaction in a setting that can be at times disconnected from real world systems. Laboratories have been developed that show models of a working system, focusing on a single aspect, but very few laboratories allow the user to see the outputs of a working system that interacts with the real world as would be expected outside of a laboratory setting. It was aimed with this paper to show a design of a novel approach to building a remote laboratory that would be able to interact with a fully functional renewable energy system, and to show the students the outputs of such a system in real time. It allows for the user to be presented with information in a new context. PURPOSE OR GOAL: With this research it is hoped to achieve a remote laboratory that will be able to present students with the data from a renewable energy system live, as it is generated as well as all the logged date generated. It is aimed with ...

International Journal for Innovation Education and Research, 2017

Engineering curriculum design and delivery within the framework of budget restraints, learning ou... more Engineering curriculum design and delivery within the framework of budget restraints, learning outcome policies and industry standards, is a complex task that understandably universities and the engineering industry invest significant resources. It would be expected that what is actually occurring within the engineering learning space is a reflection of the constraints upon the industry, producing graduates, and products and services that provide a return on investment through intellectual capital. Firstly, the literature review will contextualise and explain the engineering student’s motivational variables to actively engage in their learning spaces, and how this may be applied by curriculum designers to improve the quality and delivery of courses. In particular, what are the intrinsic and extrinsic motivational variables and associated values that student’s desire during their engineering learning experience. Secondly, the research study will explore how motivational theory can be...

ATHENS JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, 2020

With the increasing use of 1:1 mobile devices within the curriculum space, differentiating its us... more With the increasing use of 1:1 mobile devices within the curriculum space, differentiating its use to support "learner growth" has become an important discussion amongst policy makers, researchers, educators and learners. This research study provides an insight into how learners are using their 1:1 mobile device to support their learning process. The premise of the discussion begins with the notion that a learner's success is dependent on the curriculum design been sufficiently differentiated using resources and scaffolding. Differentiating to develop technical skills that will lead to the production of artefacts as evidence of learning and creativity. This research study highlights the role of the digitally literate educational leader who can apply self-directed differentiation learning theory to model the use of 1:1 mobile devices to support "learner growth". The research study reveals learners come with pre, during and post learning perceptions, and understandings about how 1:1 mobile devices can be used to support their "learning growth". These perceptions and motivations for learning will need to be considered along with self-directed learning theory and applied to the delivery of linear and non-linear curriculum design.

2019 14th Annual Conference System of Systems Engineering (SoSE), 2019

Many species of fish school, or swarm, to increase their chances of survival in the wild. For thi... more Many species of fish school, or swarm, to increase their chances of survival in the wild. For this, they rely on their ability to sense the environment around using a multitude of sensory inputs. In robotics, researches have often tried to mimic both the fish's ability to swarm but also their ability to perceive their environment. In this paper, the effects of different sensor characteristics are coupled with simple swarming rules to determine what a robotic fish would require to be able to interact with other agents in a swarm. The purpose is the further development of a bio-inspired robotic fish designed to interact, and one-day monitor, a school of fish. Due to time, cost and the repeatability to test the design and swarming rules with real fish, the design and development of the robotic fish is being undertaken in a virtual environment. Simulating the robotic fish also allows the parameters such as the type of sensor used to be easily and quickly changed. It also has the additional benefit of being able to use Virtual Reality, which makes modifying and interacting with the simulation easier. This paper demonstrates what effect the different sensor types will have on a robotic fish's ability to swarm with real fish.

Underwater robotics is a growing field in which more research is required. A literature review ha... more Underwater robotics is a growing field in which more research is required. A literature review has been conducted on underwater robotics, focusing on the swarm problem with this type of robotics to help overcome this gap. Consensus control of robotic swarms is focused on, with a brief description of formation control and how it can be applied in the underwater setting. The basic concepts behind Particle Swarm Optimization, Ant Colony Optimization, Bees Algorithm and Heterogeneous Swarms has also been presented. The problems that are associated with communicating underwater are shown, with some possible solutions to this problem also being presented. Possible future work is described to conclude the paper.

Human Activity Recognition (HAR) is a central unit to understand and predict human behavior. HAR ... more Human Activity Recognition (HAR) is a central unit to understand and predict human behavior. HAR has been used to estimate the levels of a sedentary, monitor lifestyle habits, track the levels of people's health, or build a recommendation system. Many researchers have utilized the inertial measurement unit as an input tool to explore the HAR land. The recurrence plot (RP) technique recently has its applications diverse in various areas. From the recurrence plot, a machineauto or hand-crafted approach can be used to extract feature vectors. While the machine-auto based approach has been reported in the literature, the latter hand-crafted based method has not. For that reason, this paper evaluated and demonstrated the feasibility of utilizing Recurrence Quantification Analysis (RQA), which was a typical hand-crafted method from RP, to classify human activities. A Linear Discriminant Analysis classifier yielded a 95.08% accuracy, which belonged in the top accuracy reported in the literature. Compare to the machineauto or end-to-end approach, RQA is a far less complicated and more lean system that should be further analyzed in a HAR application.

A tracking system based of the IMU8420 data logger has been created. This tracking system can be ... more A tracking system based of the IMU8420 data logger has been created. This tracking system can be used to store the various movements of different types of animal's in-between the GPS signals, leading to a much more accurate representation of what the animal is undergoing at any point in time. This data can then be used to determine the behaviors of the animals, and thus new algorithms can be generated to try and mimic this behavior in robotics. The system could be applied to a swarm of animals to determine what an entire swarm is doing, and thus new swarming algorithms can be created.

This paper investigates undergraduate programs in electrical and electronics engineering offered ... more This paper investigates undergraduate programs in electrical and electronics engineering offered by twelve universities in Australia, Asia, Europe, and America. The investigation focuses on the structure and content of the programs, and the contact hour and assessment of the subjects involved in the programs. The investigation is carried out in four stages: selection of universities, collection of data, analysis of data, and formulation of outcomes. A list of subjects is created based on the content of the programs. The average percentage coverage of each subject in the twelve programs is calculated. The subjects are then grouped into nine program components. The average percentage coverage of each component per university is calculated. For each component, the total number of contact hours for lecture, tutorial, and practical is calculated. Also, the average percentage of four assessment methods for each component is found. Discussions on the outcome of the investigation are presented.

25th Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education : Engineering the Knowledge Economy: Collaboration, Engagement & Employability, 2014

BACKGROUND Engineering physics is an essential subject in any undergraduate engineering course. P... more BACKGROUND Engineering physics is an essential subject in any undergraduate engineering course. Practicals are a key component of teaching physics, especially to engineers. The "prac" session normally begins with a demonstrator giving the class a short description of the purpose and theory of the exercise, followed by instructions on how to perform the experiment. In recent years, the practical sessions in our firstyear physics course have come under increasing pressure to operate more efficiently and effectively. At the same time, it is common knowledge that the younger generation of students are increasingly looking to video presentations to learn how to complete specific tasks. PURPOSE The goal of the work was to produce video resources that would help students learn the fundamental theory and operation of the lab experiments before arriving at the practical session, saving valuable class time and reducing pressure on demonstrators. METHOD The video series was produced by the teaching and video-production teams after reviewing the content of the lab experiments. Once ready, in semester one 2014, the videos were released to all students (on-campus and off-campus) via the unit web-site. Students were instructed to watch each video prior to attending their respective lab session. Students completed the experiments and submitted standard lab reports on each. The average report marks were compared between 2014 and prior to 2014. At the end of the semester, students were asked to complete an on-line survey to collect their thoughts on the effectiveness of the video presentations. RESULTS We produced 10 video presentations for eight experiments. Our observations in the classes and results from the student survey indicate that the students were happy with the content and quality of the videos. Average marks of the lab reports indicated an improvement in average on-campus report scores from 2013 to 2014, and no change in the average scores of the off-campus students. Efficiencies in teaching were gained because the number of demonstrators per class in 2014 was half that in previous years. CONCLUSIONS We observed increased efficiency in students performing the experiments, reduced demonstrator costs, and no reduction in students' academic performance. Students welcomed the videos as a new learning resource. KEY WORDS Engineering practicals, flipping the classroom, cloud teaching, video teaching.

IEEE Sensors Journal, 2021

With the advancements of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, applications of battery powered... more With the advancements of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, applications of battery powered machine vision based IoT devices is rapidly growing. While numerous research works are being conducted to develop low power hardware solutions for IoT devices, image capture and image processing remain high power demanding processes leading to a short battery life. However, the power consumption of the machine vision based IoT devices can be minimized by the careful optimization of the hardware components that are used is these devices. In this article, we present a review of low power machine vision hardware components for the IoT applications. A guide to selecting the optimum processors and image sensors for a given battery powered machine vision based IoT device is presented. Next, the factors that must be considered when selecting processors and image sensors for a given IoT application are discussed, and selection criteria for the processors and image sensors are established. Then, the current commercially available hardware components are reviewed in accordance with the established selection criteria. Finally, the research trends in the field of battery powered machine vision based IoT devices are discussed, and the potential future research directions in the field are presented.

IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 2021

2015 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2015

This paper focuses on evaluation of student learning outcomes in fourth year engineering mechatro... more This paper focuses on evaluation of student learning outcomes in fourth year engineering mechatronics through design based learning curriculum. The purpose of all engineering degrees is to provide strong grounding with principles of engineering science and technology. By learning engineering methods and approaches in an academic environment, graduates can enter the world of work and tackle real world problems with innovation and creativity. In many cases, academic staff are responsible for driving and setting high expectations in their classrooms. Sometimes staff are expected to teach subjects outside their expertise. This research paper is concerned with evaluating student learning outcomes through feedback sought from students on design-based learning approach.

Context: Engineering education is embarking on a new journey, where curriculum designers are need... more Context: Engineering education is embarking on a new journey, where curriculum designers are needing evidence based research to understand how the use of 1:1 mobile devices can influence student perceptions of self-directed learning, to improve curriculum engagement and to measurable assessment outcomes. Using student perceptions of learning motivation and learning intervention theory, higher order thinking skills can be encouraged in problem-based learning. Understanding what is motivating students to learn when and using 1:1 mobile devices will help curriculum designers and facilitators to engage students. Purpose: This paper will explore survey results of a recent study, revealing how students are responding to a self-directed curriculum design where engineering students are accessing learning interventions to enhance their learning experience when using 1:1 mobile device technology. Approach: This study approach is focusing on answering the following questions: How do engineerin...

IEEE Sensors Journal, 2021

As technology advances, the places we have been able to explore have drastically increased. Howev... more As technology advances, the places we have been able to explore have drastically increased. However, the advancements in the underwater realm have staggered behind both the exploration of surface and air domains. This is due in part to the challenges that arise when placing a robot in water. One current shift has seen the use of a swarm of robots that are cheaper and are of a lower quality, that work together to accomplish a common goal, as opposed to using a single expensive robot. Swarm robotics benefits from being more tolerant of catastrophic failure and can cover large areas in smaller time frames. However, unlike other advancements in technology, underwater swarm robotics have struggled to compete with its counterparts on the surface and in the air. This is mainly due to the problems with communication underwater, the hazardous environment, the cost and difficulties with construction of underwater robots. This article conducts a literature review into the current state of underwater swarm robotics; it covers the design of the underwater robots, the methods used by the individual robot to perceive their environment, how they can localize to said environment, the methods of communication available underwater, centralized and decentralized control, the basis of swarm algorithms, the behaviors that are exhibited when a swarm works collectively and how swarms have been applied underwater.

The focus of this research paper is to illustrate st... more The focus of this research paper is to illustrate students views on design based learning, and in particular  to investigate and present how important design based learning is for a career in engineering. Students  need to  acquire  various skills by  learning  and practicing  engineering, which  is necessary to  explore themselves according to the industry requirements. However students and educators are not aware of  existing industry requirements of graduates. In learning and teaching institutions, practicing design is  one of the fundamental processes in engineering and a...

The School of Engineering and Technology at Deakin University has been delivering an eight-semest... more The School of Engineering and Technology at Deakin University has been delivering an eight-semester degree course in mechatronics for over five years. The engineering students are given a design-and-build project as a 2 credit core unit over their final two semesters. This project can be very broadly based and may not necessarily be founded in mechatronic system design. Hence, a core unit was developed that embedded the tools required for mechatronic system design. The lecture component of this unit as it was implemented presents a general summary of mechatronic design. The laboratory component of the unit requires students to apply these tools in the construction of a small mechatronic system. Previously a small autonomous mobile robot capable of performing a reasonably complex series of tasks has been specified. The success of the student's designs in the completion of their tasks and the student's feedback has shown that the unit makes a genuine contribution to their lear...

BACKGROUND OR CONTEXT: With the re-imagining of engineering education at Deakin University an opp... more BACKGROUND OR CONTEXT: With the re-imagining of engineering education at Deakin University an opportunity was presented with the ability to design purpose built spaces. With this development a review of leading practice educational spaces was undertaken specifically in a product development unit as well as a materials unit. Whilst both areas have different needs there were some common elements with the location of teaching aids, apparatus and experimental set-up and collaborative teaching spaces. PURPOSE OR GOAL: This study examined what would a best practice learning environment look like in two different disciplines and what is the connection and similarities in a problem based learning environment. A benchmarking study and literature review on best practice was undertaken; this learning space was intrinsically linked to the educational model. Aspects of the educational model have started to be implemented in this long term project APPROACH: Student perceptions were measured prima...

IEEE Sensors Journal, 2020

Since the well-established navigation systems such as GPS are ineffective in indoor environments,... more Since the well-established navigation systems such as GPS are ineffective in indoor environments, research into developing novel indoor positioning technologies has emerged in recent years. While several technologies are being investigated, a practical and reliable indoor positioning system is yet to emerge. Indoor positioning using light signals holds a great potential to provide a reliable solution to the indoor positioning problem. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the available literature on light-based indoor positioning systems. The paper establishes a classification based on the design of various light-based indoor positioning (LIP) systems, and discusses their key components including hardware, software and algorithms. The limitations and challenges of the LIP systems are discussed in details, and current published solutions are presented. The review also provides a comparison between LIP systems and other optical positioning systems, and identifies the associated research gaps. Finally, based on the identified gaps, the future research directions in both LIP systems and other optical positioning systems are presented.

KnE Engineering, 2017

Underwater robotics is currently a growing field. To be able to autonomously find and collect obj... more Underwater robotics is currently a growing field. To be able to autonomously find and collect objects on the land and in the air is a complicated problem, which is only compounded within the underwater setting. Different techniques have been developed over the years to attempt to solve this problem, many of which involve the use of expensive sensors. This paper explores a method to find the depth of an object within the underwater setting, using a single camera source and a known object. Once this known object has been found, information about other unknown objects surrounding this point can be determined, and therefore the objects can be collected.

… , 2008. WAC 2008. …, 2008

BACKGROUND OR CONTEXT: Current work in remote laboratories focuses on student interaction in a se... more BACKGROUND OR CONTEXT: Current work in remote laboratories focuses on student interaction in a setting that can be at times disconnected from real world systems. Laboratories have been developed that show models of a working system, focusing on a single aspect, but very few laboratories allow the user to see the outputs of a working system that interacts with the real world as would be expected outside of a laboratory setting. It was aimed with this paper to show a design of a novel approach to building a remote laboratory that would be able to interact with a fully functional renewable energy system, and to show the students the outputs of such a system in real time. It allows for the user to be presented with information in a new context. PURPOSE OR GOAL: With this research it is hoped to achieve a remote laboratory that will be able to present students with the data from a renewable energy system live, as it is generated as well as all the logged date generated. It is aimed with ...

International Journal for Innovation Education and Research, 2017

Engineering curriculum design and delivery within the framework of budget restraints, learning ou... more Engineering curriculum design and delivery within the framework of budget restraints, learning outcome policies and industry standards, is a complex task that understandably universities and the engineering industry invest significant resources. It would be expected that what is actually occurring within the engineering learning space is a reflection of the constraints upon the industry, producing graduates, and products and services that provide a return on investment through intellectual capital. Firstly, the literature review will contextualise and explain the engineering student’s motivational variables to actively engage in their learning spaces, and how this may be applied by curriculum designers to improve the quality and delivery of courses. In particular, what are the intrinsic and extrinsic motivational variables and associated values that student’s desire during their engineering learning experience. Secondly, the research study will explore how motivational theory can be...

ATHENS JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, 2020

With the increasing use of 1:1 mobile devices within the curriculum space, differentiating its us... more With the increasing use of 1:1 mobile devices within the curriculum space, differentiating its use to support "learner growth" has become an important discussion amongst policy makers, researchers, educators and learners. This research study provides an insight into how learners are using their 1:1 mobile device to support their learning process. The premise of the discussion begins with the notion that a learner's success is dependent on the curriculum design been sufficiently differentiated using resources and scaffolding. Differentiating to develop technical skills that will lead to the production of artefacts as evidence of learning and creativity. This research study highlights the role of the digitally literate educational leader who can apply self-directed differentiation learning theory to model the use of 1:1 mobile devices to support "learner growth". The research study reveals learners come with pre, during and post learning perceptions, and understandings about how 1:1 mobile devices can be used to support their "learning growth". These perceptions and motivations for learning will need to be considered along with self-directed learning theory and applied to the delivery of linear and non-linear curriculum design.

2019 14th Annual Conference System of Systems Engineering (SoSE), 2019

Many species of fish school, or swarm, to increase their chances of survival in the wild. For thi... more Many species of fish school, or swarm, to increase their chances of survival in the wild. For this, they rely on their ability to sense the environment around using a multitude of sensory inputs. In robotics, researches have often tried to mimic both the fish's ability to swarm but also their ability to perceive their environment. In this paper, the effects of different sensor characteristics are coupled with simple swarming rules to determine what a robotic fish would require to be able to interact with other agents in a swarm. The purpose is the further development of a bio-inspired robotic fish designed to interact, and one-day monitor, a school of fish. Due to time, cost and the repeatability to test the design and swarming rules with real fish, the design and development of the robotic fish is being undertaken in a virtual environment. Simulating the robotic fish also allows the parameters such as the type of sensor used to be easily and quickly changed. It also has the additional benefit of being able to use Virtual Reality, which makes modifying and interacting with the simulation easier. This paper demonstrates what effect the different sensor types will have on a robotic fish's ability to swarm with real fish.