Cooperative analysis and design is often considered only to be applicable in settings where a system is being developed solely for the ‘user’ participants in the process. This paper, however, argues that there are quite good prospects in applying cooperative analysis and design techniques in specific use settings to inform development of general products. We describe and discuss the application...

Location based services (LBS) and applications have recently emerged as a significant application area. However, location based services and application could also benefit of the dimensions of the contextual data. MultiUser Publishing Environment (MUPE) has a built-in context mediation capability that allows the application developer to concentrate on using contextual data and thus enabling rap...

Fostering the spread of inexpensive, sustainable manufacturing processes and equipment empowers individuals and societies to create products which solve their particular challenges. We intend to advance that idea to its next logical step, offering not just the means of production, but also the mechanisms by which this empowerment can propagate and evolve. By creating rapid-prototyping machines ...

Rapid prototyping tools empower individuals to create almost anything. Unfortunately, these tools are still far too expensive for personal ownership. The do-it-yourself community has responded with a slew of home-made rapid prototyping machines, but development times are slow because of the complexity of the necessary control system and the need to design the mechanical elements from scratch. T...

A method for creating planar As2S3 waveguides with a minimum of processing steps is proposed, and the resulting waveguides have been characterized. When the processing parameters are optimized, the losses are low enough for practical use. The authors demonstrate this by creating serpentine waveguides with multiple bends and lengths in excess of 23cm. Keywords-component; chalcogenide glass; opti...

Rapid Prototyping ist in der Industrie ein Fertigungsverfahren, bei dem ohne manuelle Umwege 3D-Modelle in Produkte umgesetzt werden. Nach mehr als 30 Jahren Industrieeinsatz ist dieses Verfahren mit dem 3D-Drucker auch für die Schule einsetzbar geworden. Die Schülerinnen und Schüler können alle Phasen der Modellerstellung und Modellumwandlung selbst gestalten und die einzelnen Arbeitsschritte ...