Technologies最新文献

{"title":"Technology in Forensic Sciences: Innovation and Precision","authors":"Xavier Chango, Omar Flor-Unda, P. Gil-Jiménez, H. Gómez-Moreno","doi":"10.3390/technologies12080120","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12080120","url":null,"abstract":"The advancement of technology and its developments have provided the forensic sciences with many cutting-edge tools, devices, and applications, allowing forensics a better and more accurate understanding of the crime scene, a better and optimal acquisition of data and information, and faster processing, allowing more reliable conclusions to be obtained and substantially improving the scientific investigation of crime. This article describes the technological advances, their impacts, and the challenges faced by forensic specialists in using and implementing these technologies as tools to strengthen their field and laboratory investigations. The systematic review of the scientific literature used the PRISMA® methodology, analyzing documents from databases such as SCOPUS, Web of Science, Taylor & Francis, PubMed, and ProQuest. Studies were selected using a Cohen Kappa coefficient of 0.463. In total, 63 reference articles were selected. The impact of technology on investigations by forensic science experts presents great benefits, such as a greater possibility of digitizing the crime scene, allowing remote analysis through extended reality technologies, improvements in the accuracy and identification of biometric characteristics, portable equipment for on-site analysis, and Internet of things devices that use artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques. These alternatives improve forensic investigations without diminishing the investigator’s prominence and responsibility in the resolution of cases.","PeriodicalId":22341,"journal":{"name":"Technologies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141800791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhanced Energy Transfer Efficiency for IoT-Enabled Cyber-Physical Systems in 6G Edge Networks with WPT-MIMO-NOMA","authors":"A. Ezekiel, Kennedy Chinedu Okafor, Sena Timothy Tersoo, Christopher Akinyemi Alabi, Jamiu Abdulsalam, A. Imoize, Olamide Jogunola, K. Anoh","doi":"10.3390/technologies12080119","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12080119","url":null,"abstract":"The integration of wireless power transfer (WPT) with massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) networks can provide operational capabilities to energy-constrained Internet of Things (IoT) devices in cyber-physical systems such as smart autonomous vehicles. However, during downlink WPT, co-channel interference (CCI) can limit the energy efficiency (EE) gains in such systems. This paper proposes a user equipment (UE)–base station (BS) connection model to assign each UE to a single BS for WPT to mitigate CCI. An energy-efficient resource allocation scheme is developed that integrates the UE–BS connection approach with joint optimization of power control, time allocation, antenna selection, and subcarrier assignment. The proposed scheme improves EE by 24.72% and 33.76% under perfect and imperfect CSI conditions, respectively, compared to a benchmark scheme without UE–BS connections. The scheme requires fewer BS antennas to maximize EE and the distributed algorithm exhibits fast convergence. Furthermore, UE–BS connections’ impact on EE provided significant gains. Dedicated links improve EE by 24.72% (perfect CSI) and 33.76% (imperfect CSI) over standard connections. Imperfect CSI reduces EE, with the proposed scheme outperforming by 6.97% to 12.75% across error rates. More antennas enhance EE, with improvements of up to 123.12% (conventional MIMO) and 38.14% (massive MIMO) over standard setups. Larger convergence parameters improve convergence, achieving EE gains of 7.09% to 11.31% over the baseline with different convergence rates. The findings validate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques in improving WPT efficiency and EE in wireless-powered MIMO–NOMA networks.","PeriodicalId":22341,"journal":{"name":"Technologies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141806261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of a Body Weight Support System Employing Model-Based System Engineering Methodology","authors":"Alberto E. Loaiza, Jose I. Garcia, Jose T. Buitrago","doi":"10.3390/technologies12080118","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12080118","url":null,"abstract":"Partial body weight support systems have proven to be a vital tool in performing physical therapy for patients with lower limb disabilities to improve gait. Developing this type of equipment requires rigorous design process that obtains a robust system, allowing physiotherapy exercises to be performed safely and efficiently. With this in mind, a “Model-Based Systems Engineering” design process using SysML improves communication between different areas, thereby increasing the synergy of interdisciplinary workgroups and positively impacting the development process of cyber-physical systems. The proposed development process presents a work sequence that defines a clear path in the design process, allowing traceability in the development phase. This also ensures the observability of elements related to a part that has suffered a failure. This methodology reduces the integration complexity between subsystems that compose the partial body weight support system because is possible to have a hierarchical and functional system vision at each design stage. The standard allowed requirements to be established graphically, making it possible to observe their system dependencies and who satisfied them. Consequently, the Partial Weight Support System was implemented through with a clear design route obtained by the MBSE methodology.","PeriodicalId":22341,"journal":{"name":"Technologies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141810505","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nano-Level Additive Manufacturing: Condensed Review of Processes, Materials, and Industrial Applications","authors":"Ismail Fidan, Mohammad Alshaikh Ali, Vivekanand Naikwadi, Shamil Gudavasov, Mushfig Mahmudov, Mahdi Mohammadizadeh, Zhicheng Zhang, Ankit Sharma","doi":"10.3390/technologies12070117","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12070117","url":null,"abstract":"Additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing, represents the forefront of modern manufacturing technology. Its growing popularity spans across research and development, material science, design, processes, and everyday applications. This review paper presents a crucial review of nano-level 3D printing, examining it from the perspectives of processes, materials, industrial applications, and future trends. The authors have synthesized the latest insights from a wide range of archival articles and source books, highlighting the key findings. The primary contribution of this study is a condensed review report that consolidates the newest research on nano-level 3D printing, offering a broad overview of this innovative technology for researchers, inventors, educators, and technologists. It is anticipated that this review study will significantly advance research in nanotechnology, additive manufacturing, and related technological fields.","PeriodicalId":22341,"journal":{"name":"Technologies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141827697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of a New Prototype Paediatric Central Sleep Apnoea Monitor","authors":"Reza Saatchi, Heather Elphick, Jennifer Rowson, Mark Wesseler, Jacob Marris, Sarah Shortland, Lowri Thomas","doi":"10.3390/technologies12070116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12070116","url":null,"abstract":"A new prototype device to monitor breathing in children diagnosed with central sleep apnoea (CSA) was developed. CSA is caused by the failure of central nervous system signals to the respiratory muscles and results in intermittent breathing pauses during sleep. Children diagnosed with CSA require home respiration monitoring during sleep. Apnoea monitors initiate an audio alarm when the breath-to-breath respiration interval exceeds a preset time. This allows the child’s parents to attend to the child to ensure safety. The article describes the development of the monitor’s hardware, software, and evaluation. Features of the device include the detection of abnormal respiratory pauses and the generation of an associated alarm, the ability to record the respiratory signal and its storage using an on-board disk, miniaturised hardware, child-friendliness, cost-effectiveness, and ease of use. The device was evaluated on 10 healthy adult volunteers with a mean age of 46.6 years (and a standard deviation of 14.4 years). The participants randomly intentionally paused their breathing during the recording. The device detected and provided an alarm when the respiratory pauses exceeded the preset time. The respiration rates determined from the device closely matched the values from a commercial respiration monitor. The study indicated the peak-detection method of the respiration rate measurement is more robust than the zero-crossing method.","PeriodicalId":22341,"journal":{"name":"Technologies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141831146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Gamified VR Storytelling for Cultural Tourism Using 3D Reconstructions, Virtual Humans, and 360° Videos","authors":"Emmanouil Kontogiorgakis, Emmanouil Zidianakis, Eirini Kontaki, Nikolaos Partarakis, Constantina Manoli, S. Ntoa, C. Stephanidis","doi":"10.3390/technologies12060073","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12060073","url":null,"abstract":"This work addresses the lack of methodologies for the seamless integration of 360° videos, 3D digitized artifacts, and virtual human agents within a virtual reality environment. The proposed methodology is showcased in the context of a tour guide application and centers around the innovative use of a central hub, metaphorically linking users to various historical locations. Leveraging a treasure hunt metaphor and a storytelling approach, this combination of digital structures is capable of building an exploratory learning experience. Virtual human agents contribute to the scenario by offering personalized narratives and educational content, contributing to an enriched cultural heritage journey. Key contributions of this research include the exploration of the symbolic use of the central hub, the application of a gamified approach through the treasure hunt metaphor, and the seamless integration of various technologies to enhance user engagement. This work contributes to the understanding of context-specific cultural heritage applications and their potential impact on cultural tourism. The output of this research work is the reusable methodology and its demonstration in the implemented showcase application that was assessed by a heuristic evaluation.","PeriodicalId":22341,"journal":{"name":"Technologies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141108188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Comprehensive Survey on the Investigation of Machine-Learning-Powered Augmented Reality Applications in Education","authors":"Haseeb Ali Khan, Sonain Jamil, Md. Jalil Piran, Oh-Jin Kwon, Jong-Weon Lee","doi":"10.3390/technologies12050072","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12050072","url":null,"abstract":"Machine learning (ML) is enabling augmented reality (AR) to gain popularity in various fields, including gaming, entertainment, healthcare, and education. ML enhances AR applications in education by providing accurate visualizations of objects. For AR systems, ML algorithms facilitate the recognition of objects and gestures from kindergarten through university. The purpose of this survey is to provide an overview of various ways in which ML techniques can be applied within the field of AR within education. The first step is to describe the background of AR. In the next step, we discuss the ML models that are used in AR education applications. Additionally, we discuss how ML is used in AR. Each subgroup’s challenges and solutions can be identified by analyzing these frameworks. In addition, we outline several research gaps and future research directions in ML-based AR frameworks for education.","PeriodicalId":22341,"journal":{"name":"Technologies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141123883","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysis, Evaluation, and Future Directions on Multimodal Deception Detection","authors":"Arianna D’ulizia, Alessia D’Andrea, P. Grifoni, F. Ferri","doi":"10.3390/technologies12050071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12050071","url":null,"abstract":"Multimodal deception detection has received increasing attention from the scientific community in recent years, mainly due to growing ethical and security issues, as well as the growing use of digital media. A great number of deception detection methods have been proposed in several domains, such as political elections, security contexts, and job interviews. However, a systematic analysis of the current situation and the evaluation and future directions of deception detection based on cues coming from multiple modalities seems to be lacking. This paper, starting from a description of methods and metrics used for the analysis and evaluation of multimodal deception detection on video, provides a vision of future directions in this field. For the analysis, the PRISMA recommendations are followed, which allow the collection and synthesis of all the available research on the topic and the extraction of information on the multimodal features, the fusion methods, the classification approaches, the evaluation datasets, and metrics. The results of this analysis contribute to the assessment of the state of the art and the evaluation of evidence on important research questions in multimodal deceptive deception. Moreover, they provide guidance on future research in the field.","PeriodicalId":22341,"journal":{"name":"Technologies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141125904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Speckle Plethysmograph-Based Blood Pressure Assessment","authors":"Floranne Ellington, Anh Nguyen, Mao-Hsiang Huang, Tai Le, Bernard Choi, Hung Cao","doi":"10.3390/technologies12050070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12050070","url":null,"abstract":"Continuous non-invasive blood pressure (CNBP) monitoring is of the utmost importance in detecting and managing hypertension, a leading cause of death in the United States. Extensive research has delved into pioneering methods for predicting systolic and diastolic blood pressure values by leveraging pulse arrival time (PAT), the time difference between the proximal and distal signal peaks. The most widely employed pairing involves electrocardiography (ECG) and photoplethysmography (PPG). Possessing similar characteristics in terms of measuring blood flow changes, a recently investigated optical signal known as speckleplethysmography (SPG) showed its stability and high signal-to-noise ratio compared with PPG. Thus, SPG is a potential surrogate to pair with ECG for CNBP estimation. The present study aims to unlock the untapped potential of SPG as a signal for non-invasive blood pressure monitoring based on PAT. To ascertain SPG’s capabilities, eight subjects were enrolled in multiple recording sessions. A third-party device was employed for ECG and PPG measurements, while a commercial device served as the reference for arterial blood pressure (ABP). SPG measurements were obtained using a prototype smartphone-based system. Following the completion of three scenarios—sitting, walking, and running—the subjects’ signals and ABP were recorded to investigate the predictive capacity of systolic blood pressure. The collected data were processed and prepared for machine learning models, including support vector regression and decision tree regression. The models’ effectiveness was evaluated using root-mean-square error and mean absolute percentage error. In most instances, predictions utilizing PATSPG exhibited comparable or superior performance to PATPPG (i.e., SPG Rest ± 12.4 mmHg vs. PPG Rest ± 13.7 mmHg for RSME, and SPG 8% vs. PPG 9% for MAPE). Furthermore, incorporating an additional feature, namely the previous SBP value, resulted in reduced prediction errors for both signals in multiple model configurations (i.e., SPG Rest ± 12.4 mmHg to ±3.7 mmHg for RSME, and SPG Rest 8% to 3% for MAPE). These preliminary tests of SPG underscore the remarkable potential of this novel signal in PAT-based blood pressure predictions. Subsequent studies involving a larger cohort of test subjects and advancements in the SPG acquisition system hold promise for further improving the effectiveness of this newly explored signal in blood pressure monitoring.","PeriodicalId":22341,"journal":{"name":"Technologies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141125516","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating a Controlled Electromagnetic Launcher for Safe Remote Drug Delivery","authors":"John Larocco, Q. Tahmina, John Simonis","doi":"10.3390/technologies12050069","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies12050069","url":null,"abstract":"Biologists and veterinarians rely on dart projectors to inject animals with drugs, take biopsies from specimens, or inject tracking chips. Firearms, air guns, and other launchers are limited in their ability to precisely control the kinetic energy of a projectile, which can injure the animal if too high. In order to improve the safety of remote drug delivery, a lidar-modulated electromagnetic launcher and a soft drug delivery dart were prototyped. A single-stage revolver coilgun and soft dart were designed and tested at distances up to 8 m. With a coil efficiency of 2.25%, the launcher could consistently deliver a projectile at a controlled kinetic energy of 1.00 ± 0.006 J and an uncontrolled kinetic energy of 2.66 ± 0.076 J. Although modifications to charging time, sensors, and electronics could improve performance, our launcher performed at the required level at the necessary distances. The precision achieved with commercial components enables many other applications, from law enforcement to manufacturing.","PeriodicalId":22341,"journal":{"name":"Technologies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141126463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}