Sundar Krishnamurty - US grants

9402608 Krishnamurty In this research project, a unified scheme is developed for the design of generic mechanisms using an exact gradient approach. The utilization of this approach enhances the efficiency of the mechanism design process, and the accuracy of the final solution. It includes a comprehensive design procedure for determining and eliminating branch-defects and circuit defects during mechanism synthesis process leading to optimal solutions for complex mechanisms. The unified approach uses matrix methods to model and analyze mechanisms to ensure generality, and has the capabilities of systematically determining suitable mechanism types and their optimal dimensions without branch and circuit defects. The results of this research are extremely useful in the mechanism identification and enumeration process, formulation of appropriate selection and rejection criteria for mechanism evaluation, and designing and implementing schemes for automatic mechanism sketching without crossing links, and representing different class of mechanism such as contracted graphs and kinematic chains. ***

This grant provides funding for the development of a trade-off based robust modeling and design methodology for identification of statistically optimal product specifications. This research will exploit concepts from utility theory into a robust design paradigm to quantitatively incorporate qualitative knowledge and preferences of different attributes without loss of generality and accuracy. Statistical exploration based design of experiment techniques will be developed to explore and generate system behavioral information, and to identify optimal product specifications from this quantitative representation of attribute data. By incorporating explicit representation of higher level modeling and design knowledge in the design process, an interactive design system will be developed to enable designers make intelligent decisions during the design process. Industry-driven design problems will be used as case studies to test and evaluate the proposed methodology. If successful, this research will result in a unified methodology that offers a rigorous treatment of design process from an overall design perspective under conditions of uncertainty in data. The primary goal of this research involves the determination of a trade-off based decision model formulation for direct and simultaneous treatment of multiple objectives and constraints in the design process, and its integration with a statistical exploration based robust optimal design generation strategy. This research could lead to a better understanding of the engineering modeling process, and advance the state of knowledge by which the inherent complexities arising from representing physical design problems using idealized computer-based abstractions can be addressed. Results of this research will also contribute towards the identification of a consistent body of synergistic, integrated engineering design methods based on design of experiments, utility theory, computer-based simulation models, finite element methods, and design optimization principles.

Visualization and spatial reasoning are integral components of intelligent systems. They form the basis for understanding a wide variety of topics across science, mathematics and engineering, including molecular structures, topologies, motion and forces, and manufacturing processes. Historically, many students, especially female students, have had difficulty acquiring visualization and spatial reasoning skills, creating potential barriers to advancement in science, mathematics and engineering. Within engineering, faculty have found it both challenging and time consuming to teach topics that require strong visualization and spatial reasoning skills, topics such as product design, manufacturing, and engineering modeling and analysis. Similarly, engineering students have found these topics unmotivating and difficult to comprehend. With the advent of sophisticated computer graphics and animation, one might expect that the need for human visualization skills has been eliminated. But this is not the case. Computers cannot replace the need for these skills in science and engineering just as calculators have not replaced the need for quantitative skills. Thus this project has three goals: l) to advance our understanding of human visualization and spatial reasoning; 2) to use this knowledge to develop computer-based visualization instruction; and 3) to incorporate this instruction into intelligent multimedia tutors in ways that maximize their effectiveness for a broad mix of students while minimizing the development time and cost for the faculty involved. The achievement of such goals has required that we put together a team of researchers with backgrounds in psychology, education, engineering and computer science.

Although visualization and spatial reasoning are fundamental cognitive skills, the cognitive processes that govern them are poorly understood. Thus, as our first goal, we will undertake during year l a series of experiments in our Eye Movement Laboratories designed to test alternative theories of how individuals represent mentally and reason spatially about 3-D objects and their transformations. We will use the detailed eye movement data as a window on the underlying cognitive processes. We have made similar use of such data in reading, visual search and scene perception (Rayner, l992, l998; Rayner & Pollatsek, l992). We expect these data to reveal large, stable differences among individuals, not only between low and high spatial ability participants, but also within groups of participants of similar spatial abilities.

Visualization and spatial reasoning skills are critical to the understanding of many concepts within science and engineering. Yet, we have little understanding of how we can best teach these skills. Thus, as our second goal, we will develop during year 2 computer-based visualization skills instruction modules based on what we have learned during the first year about the problems that individuals have and the strategies that work successfully, modules that will take advantage of current advances in instructional theories and technologies. Having developed the modules, we will then conduct a series of experiments in the second year designed to test theoretically motivated methods for delivering visualization instruction that improve the content of the instruction delivered to high and low spatial ability learners, optimize the mix of part- and whole-task training, and maximize the number of individuals that develop expertise.

0001347
Gao
The objective of this project is to develop a new design course sequence in the broad area of Assistive Technology for undergraduate students in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE) Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst. A two-semester design course entitled "Senior Design Projects to Aid the Disabled" is to be developed and integrated within the established undergraduate curriculum of the Department.

Through close collaborations with the Lemelson Assistive Technology Development Center (LATDC) at Hampshire College and Adaptive Design Services (ADS) under the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation (DMR), the new design course sequence is to apply rigorous analytical and computer simulation approaches to specific design problems originated by disabled clients. The output of each design project will be a prototype of a functional mechanical and/or electromechanical device that satisfies the specific need of an individual client. The new course will strengthen the existing undergraduate curriculum by introducing mechanical and industrial engineering students to a new area of great social importance. It further enhances the Department's effort in promoting its newly identified research thrust area in assistive technology and biomedical engineering.

The University of Massachusetts-Amherst is renewing its participation in the e-Design center, an I/UCRC center that was created in 2003. The lead institution is Virginia Tech, and the center at present includes three universities and approximately seventeen industry members. The mission and Vision of the NSF Center for e-Design is to serve as a national center of excellence in IT-enabled design and realization of manufactured products. E-Design involves conceptualizing, designing and realizing a product (or system) using methods and software tools that allow for interoperability of remote and heterogeneous systems and support collaboration among distributed, multidisciplinary stakeholders.

The University of Massachusetts (UMass) will bring expertise in three of the four Center thrust areas, including: New Design Paradigms and Processes, Design Optimization, and Enabling Information Infrastructure. Researchers at UMass will be focused on the development and application of engineering ontologies related to product design to enable seamless collaboration and interoperability of engineering tools and people in a distributed web-environment. The joint research efforts of researchers at the other Center institutions (Virginia Tech and University of Central Florida) both complement and strengthen the work at UMass.

The proposed Center renewal will enable UMass to continue its key research and leadership role in the Center, as well as contribute significantly to the successful development and preparation of graduate and undergraduate students. Benefits to students will include integration of resulting work into coursework and engineering curricula, as well as internship opportunities. The center will provide a unique experience to students who can interact and collaborate with industrial researchers and engineers. Research and educational findings will continue to be disseminated nationally and will have a significant impact on US industry as a whole.

This Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) project is a Type II (A:B) partnership, occurring within the University of Massachusetts Amherst with participation from the NSF PFI graduated grantee (0090521) in collaboration with participants from two other NSF partnership supported programs (both
I/UCRCs): Center for University of Massachusetts and Industry Research on Polymers (CUMIRP), which was founded in 1980 and has since graduated but is still active, and e-Design Center (0332508/0838747). The precision manufacturing sector, primarily Small and Mid-sized Enterprises (SMEs), is an important part of the economic base of Western Massachusetts with significant employment. The industry is currently challenged by cyclical markets, increased global competition, aging facilities/technologies and insufficient labor supply. The PFI program which was put in place in 2000 successfully established a regional industry network, Regional Technology Corporation (RTC), and this proposed program will enable significant enhancement and sustainability of technology transfer. This project will stimulate transformation of relevant new discoveries at UMass to SMEs that have little or no experience working with a research institution. Drawing upon the scientific and engineering research conducted at UMass, the university and the SMEs will collaborate on targeted and tailored research projects focused on translation and application. UMass facilities, state-of-the-art testing and characterization equipment, as well as its engineering design and management tools, will complement the project's translation and application process

The expected outcome of this program is a sustainable regional innovation infrastructure that supports effective transformation of the precision manufacturing SMEs to new markets through infusion of new technologies with a flexible and capable workforce. SMEs are a significant part of the U.S. economic engine and have contributed greatly to employment growth and economic development. The evaluation and assessment of this program should lead to important and transferable learning. The focus on enhancing technology transfer and translational work with SMEs, on partnering with regional assets, and on seeking additional financial support should ensure that the impacts of the program are meaningful, documented, disseminated and sustained.

Partners at the inception of the project are Academic Institutions: University of Massachusetts Amherst (lead institution), including participation of the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Research and Engagement, Office of Research Liaison and Development, Office of Commercial Ventures and Intellectual Property, Polymer Science and Engineering Department, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Center for UMass-Industry Research on Polymers, Center for e-Design, and Department of Landscape Architecture and Region Planning; and Holyoke Community College; Private Sector Organizations: Ben Franklin Design and Manufacturing Company, Inc.; State and Regional Organizations: Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, Inc., MA; and Regional Technology Corporation,(RTC), MA. Other participating organizations and personnel include Academic: Springfield Technical Community College; and State and Regional Organizations: Economic Development Council for Western Massachusetts, and Western Mass Chapter-National Tooling and Machining Association (WMNTMA).

Center for e-Design
Proposal #1127609
Proposal #1127664

This proposal seeks funding for the Center for e-Design sites at the University of Massachusetts and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Funding Requests for Fundamental Research are authorized by an NSF approved solicitation, NSF 10-601. The solicitation invites I/UCRCs to submit proposals for support of industry-defined fundamental research.

The design process typically entails generation of numerous design alternatives followed by reduction of these by virtue of application of different criteria. Ongoing application of computing tools to create an entirely electronic process for e-design have been enabling but can have the effect of saturating the process with numerous alternatives. The proposed work seeks to bring together researchers in the psychological theory of innovation, computer science and human computer interaction to transform the innovative process of design from one which is ad hoc to a more systematic search through the space of features. The effort aims to implement the resulting strategies in a semantic framework leveraging the concepts from visual perception, cognition and human computer interfaces that will allow visualization on the part of the designer of the most promising features for each specific design case.

The proposed research has the potential to enable e-design tools to overcome current limitations and improve the process and outcomes of design while at the same time providing insights into the process of human innovation. Both, if successful, could significantly improve design efficiency resulting in cost savings and reduction of time to market. The work is supported by individual industry members of the center and has the potential to extend the portfolio of the center by virtue of the major innovation in e-design tools enabled by integration of cognitive principles. Both inside and outside the center, the impact on design education and execution has the potential for broad impact in the engineering community.

Researchers are developing a human-machine synergism in which the machine complements human weaknesses to being innovative while the human returns the favor for the machine. This method called Innovation Assistance (IA) represents a fundamental new way of thinking about innovation and replaces the minimally successful Artificial Intelligence techniques from the 1980's that were unable to get machines to be innovative by themselves. This is accomplished by carefully understanding the fundamental axis upon which all innovation turns: every innovative solution is based upon at least one overlooked (i.e., obscure) feature of the problem. Humans and machines have different reasons for overlooking obscure features. Each partner in the human-machine interaction will help counter the other?s weaknesses. Researchers have thus far devised nearly two dozen innovation techniques that counteract the many cognitive reasons why humans overlook obscure features.

This technology has applications for STEM education, lawyers, the military and engineers. The problem-solving model used in this method has the potential to be used to alter innovative education in STEM fields. Techniques developed through IA will be able to more efficiently search databases for similar solutions to an entered problem. There is potential for this technology to be used in a military setting for training forces to be more innovative problem solvers in the field. Engineering applications of this technology could assist in moving projects more rapidly through research and development phases. This technology addresses a growing need to improve the innovation capabilities of individuals and organizations.

The proposed research targets advancing the state of knowledge on rational design decisions in sustainable product design in order to enable a better understanding of the consequences of those decisions from an overall design perspective. The proposed research method will advance the current available capabilities for product and process design by integrating LCA into decision making for engineering design. The work intends to result in a novel decision method, and related decision support tools, for sustainable design. The methods and tools to be developed reflect the standards established in NISTs sustainability portal, and complement and enhance the capabilities of PLM tools.

The outcomes of the proposed work have the potential to facilitate the design of more sustainable products that could significantly improve both the environment and the economy on a global scale. The work is supported by the Industry Advisory Board as well as individual industry members of the center and has the potential to extend the centers portfolio. The PIs plan to introduce the developed research methods in the graduate courses at UMass Amherst and the University at Buffalo SUNY as well as develop coordinated prototype educational tools to benefit the centers collaborators and industry partners.

PI: Sup IV
Proposal Number: 1264752

This proposal creates a new collaborative opportunity for undergraduate mechanical engineering and nursing students to partner in their senior capstone courses. The focus of their capstone design projects will be to develop assistive devices for older adults that will help them maintain quality of life and retain independence. In this collaborative approach, teams of students will work with an older adult client from a retirement community to identify challenges they are having with Instrumental Activities of Daily Life (IADLs), which are as essential for independent living. Teams will develop solutions using engineering principles and nursing practices to create usable, economical, and reliable devices that fit into the daily life of the older adults. The collaborative process with older adults as clients will enable the students to gain insight into the user's needs and requirements and develop solutions that are customized for their use. This proposal is motivated by the impending rise in the number of older adults in the United States and their desire to remain independent and lead a fulfilling life. Without assistance with IADLs, they will require increasing levels of support from family or institutions. The capstone design focus will be on developing economical assistive devices that can both help older adults maintain independence and quality of life. The proposal creates a stimulating and collaborative environment for the proposed projects through the synergistic partnership between the faculty and students in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and School of Nursing and the older adults and staff at Mason Wright Retirement Community (Springfield, MA) and the Jewish Geriatric Services (Longmeadow, MA).

Intellectual Merit: This innovative collaboration provides a unique and essential opportunity to train the next generation of engineers and nurses to work collaboratively developing solutions for real challenges. The nursing students will bring clinical knowledge, as well as a unique client-centered perspective crucial for successful engagement during the design process and adaptation when completed. With a balanced perspective, the engineers on the team will be able to develop realistic design specifications that capture the requirements and constraints of the challenges faced by older adults with age-related disabilities.

Broader Impact: The technology developed for these projects will have significant effects for the older adult clients who volunteer. The partner retirement communities serve the needs of low-income older adults and are situated in an area of Springfield with a large minority population. The assistive devices created for these individuals will give them opportunity to maintain their independence that they may not have had for economic reasons. Many older adults have similar challenges that our clients will have. The solutions developed from the course may have commercial viability and offer the chance to affect the lives of millions of older Americans by supporting their independence and quality of life. The collaboration of engineering and nursing will demonstrate to the students how other professionals approach and solve a problem. This experience will benefit their future by teaching them methods for interdisciplinary work and giving the opportunity to realize its advantages first-hand.

This is a Phase III renewal for the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) site to continue as a partner institution of I/UCRC for e-Design. UMass Amherst is one of the two founding institutions of the Center for e-Design. The mission and vision of the existing NSF Center for e-Design is to research and develop methods and tools that support the realization of a new design paradigm that can be used to design, develop, and manufacture new engineered products and systems. Research at the Center for e-Design is oriented to application areas where large scale, complex projects are being developed, often involving multiple collaborators at various locations. Application areas include transportation, manufacturing, information technology, and health and safety. Research is categorized into five thrust areas - New Design Paradigms and Processes, Visualization and Virtual Prototyping, Enabling Information Infrastructure, Design Optimization, and Design Education. Research projects address a diverse range of engineering challenges faced by high-tech companies and agencies competing in a global economy. UMass Amherst has a number of faculty and student researchers working in areas that directly support the research thrust areas of the center. The renewal will enable UMass Amherst to continue its research in the advancement of new methods and tools in conceptual design and product innovation, advanced engineering modeling and simulation, digital manufacturing, and medical devices design. UMass ongoing research projects involve projects dealing with integration and application of e-Design methods and tools into commercial design processes, as well as fundamental research projects on sustainability product design and engineering design innovation.

The Center renewal will enable UMass Amherst to contribute significantly to the successful development and preparation of graduate and undergraduate students. Results from research effort will continue to be integrated into the educational curriculum to enrich the student learning experiences in conceptual design and product innovation, advanced engineering modeling and simulation, and digital manufacturing. Students associated with the Center will receive exceptional career development opportunities that include laboratory and field studies, participation at conferences and workshops, design colloquium series, and journal publications, as well as training in the ethical conduct of research. The PI and other UMass Amherst faculty will continue recruiting underrepresented students, including partnering with a number of university programs aimed at providing research opportunities for these students. Research and educational findings will be disseminated nationally and have significant broader impact through industrial collaboration and technology transfer. The industry partners will continue to benefit from first access to research, royalty-free use of the tools, and the opportunity to license and commercialize technologies. Research and educational findings will continue to be disseminated nationally and have a significant impact on U.S. industry as a whole.

Each year an average of twenty passengers on intercity buses are killed in crashes according to data in a report from National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA). Several hundred serious injuries also occur annually in these crashes. Intercity buses often travel at high speeds on highways late at night. Since these buses are top heavy, they are prone to potentially rolling over in the event of some collision. Studies by both NHTSA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) show that passenger use of seat belts could prevent more than half of these fatalities as well as the severity of many injuries by adequate restraint of passengers in such collisions. In spite of the obvious need, recent census data shows that nearly 80% of the total fleet of almost 30,000 intercity buses in the US is still not equipped with seatbelts for passengers. NHTSA ruled two years ago to require seat belts on all new intercity buses produced on or after 2016. However, all older buses are exempt from that ruling due to the estimated cost of $40,000 per bus to add seatbelts to the existing buses. The conventional approach requires replacement of all bus seats with more expensive seats that have seatbelts built into them. The team at University of Massachusetts at Amherst has a patent pending invention that can retrofit seatbelts onto existing intercity buses without any need to replace the existing seats. Thus, the cost will be lessened, and retrofits with seatbelts may now be feasible.

The goal of this project is to validate a design version of this retrofit invention that is compatible with the needs of the customer identified during a customer discovery process. Achievement of this goal will involve a scope and approach of: 1) verification that the design will meet the worst case load magnitudes specified in the federal standard that represents head on collisions, 2) verification that dynamic simulation of a rollover crash proves adequate restraint of passengers to prevent ejection of passengers from the seating area, which NHTSA studies show is a leading cause of the fatalities, 3) design for cost minimization and manufacturability given the need to meet these stated requirements, 4) development of an executable business model canvas based on customer discovery by contact of at least 100 potential customers. These customers are primarily the intercity bus owners and operators. To maximize the market penetration, the customer base could extend throughout the supply chain to bus manufacturers, bus seat suppliers, and motorcoach rebuilding facilities. Customer discovery will also involve discussions with regulators and insurers, and surveys of passengers. Here, the team can network from established contacts at the American Bus Association (ABA), Sarah's Wish Foundation, NHTSA, NTSB, American Seating, Peter Pan Bus Lines, Stage Arrow Lines, Lancer Insurance, and vehicular kinetics specialists to identify ideal product configurations, potential business models, customers, value propositions, cost structures, and revenue streams. If successful, the potential contribution should include both acceleration of the pace of retrofitting the existing total fleet with seat belts and an increase in revenues throughout the supply chain by the introduction of an innovative and more affordable product.