This paper presents the design, architecture, and implementation of “MyFord Touch Guide,” a novel, cross-platform mobile app that delivers an interactive and experiential learning experience for the Ford SYNCTM with MyFord TouchTM in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system. This app incorporates the production of MyFord Touch graphical user interface for an interactive learning experience. Additionally, it integrates a host of video tutorials featuring a computer-animated character, which offers an insightful, self-guided tour experience of the essential features and functions of the system. MyFord Touch Guide is a cross-platform app and based on a “hybrid” app architecture that uses both native mobile and web technologies. Feedbacks gathered from multiple nation-wide surveys indicated that our approach was effective as an interactive, mobile learning app.
We present a method that extends the physics-based Dirichlet parametrization for applications concerning deformation of CAE meshes. Developed for a geometric surface feature framework called Direct Surface Manipulation, Dirichlet parametrization offers a number of operational flexibilities, such as its ability to use a single polynomial blending function to control deformation of a surface region subject to multiple user-specified displacement conditions. Dirichlet parametrization considers the domain of deformation as 2D steady-state conductive heat flow and solves for unique temperature distribution over the deformation domain using the finite element analysis (FEA) method. The result is used for evaluation of the polynomial blending function during surface deformation. The original Dirichlet parametrization, however, suffers from two limitations. First, because the 2D FEA mesh required for solving the steady-state heat transfer problem is obtained by directly projecting the affected 3D mesh onto a plane (deformation domain), both parameterization quality and performance depend on the structural characteristics of the projected 2D mesh (type of elements, node density, etc.) rather than geometrical characteristics of the deformation domain. Second, projecting a 3D mesh to create a 2D FEA mesh can be problematic when multiple areas of a 3D mesh are projected on the plane and overlap each other. Improvement techniques are presented in this paper. Instead of projecting the 3D mesh onto the plane to form the 2D FEA mesh, an auxiliary mesh is created based on geometric characteristics of the deformation domain, such as its size and boundary shape. Delaunay triangulation with an area constraint is applied in meshing the deformation region. The result is used as the 2D FEA mesh for solving the steady-state heat flow problem using the finite element method. Temperature of an affected node of the 3D mesh is obtained by interpolation in two steps. First, the node is projected onto the 2D FEA mesh, and the intersecting triangle is found. Second, the temperature at the intersection is obtained by interpolating the temperatures at the three vertices of the triangle using the cubic, triangular Be´zier interpolant. The result is equated to the temperature of the node. The use of an auxiliary mesh eliminated mesh-dependency for Dirichlet parametrization. The use of triangular cubic Be´zier interpolant results in better continuity condition of the interpolating surface between adjacent elements than linear interpolation. This allows us to employ a moderate size FEA mesh for computational efficiency. Implementation of the method is discussed and results are demonstrated.
In the past two decades, various CAE technologies and tools have been developed for design, development and specification of the graphical user interface (GUI) of consumer products both in and outside the automotive industry. The growing trend of deploying speech interfaces by automotive manufacturers and the resulting usage of speech requires that the work be extended to speech interface modeling — an area where both technologies and methodologies are lacking. This paper presents our recent work aimed at developing a speech interface integrated with an existing GUI modeling system. A multi-contour seat was utilized as the testbed for the work. Our prototype allows one to adjust the multi-contour seat with a touchscreen GUI, a steering wheel mounted button coupled with an instrument cluster display, or a speech interface. The speech interface modeling began with an initial language model, which was developed by interviewing both the experts and novice users. The interview yielded a base corpus and necessary linguistic information for an initial speech grammar model and dialog strategy. After the module was developed it was integrated into the exiting GUI modeling system, in a way that the human voice is treated as a standard input for the system, similar to a press on the touchscreen. The multimodal prototype was used for two customer clinics. In each clinic, we asked a subject to adjust the multi-contour seat using different modalities, including the touchscreen, steering wheel mounted buttons, and the speech interface. We collected both objective and subjective data, including task completion time and customer feedback. Based on the clinic results, we refined both the language model and dialogue strategy. Our work has proven effective for developing a speech-centric, multimodal human machine interface.
In this paper, we discuss a way to extend a geometric surface feature framework known as Direct Surface Manipulation (DSM) into a volumetric mesh modeling paradigm that can be directly adopted by large-scale CAE applications involving models made of volumetric elements, multiple layers of surface elements or both. By introducing a polynomial-based depth-blending function, we extend the classic DSM mathematics into a volumetric form. The depth-blending function possesses similar user-friendly features as DSM basis functions permitting ease-of-control of the continuity and magnitude of deformation along the depth of deformation. Practical issues concerning the implementation of this technique are discussed in details and implementation results are shown demonstrating the versatility of this volumetric paradigm for direct modeling of complex CAE mesh models. In addition, the notion of a model-independent, volumetric-geometric feature is introduced. Motivated by modeling clay with sweeps and templates, a model-independent, catalog-able volumetric feature can be created. Deformation created by such a feature can be relocated, reoriented, duplicated, mirrored, pasted, and stored independent of the model to which it was originally applied. It can serve as a design template, thereby saving the time and effort to recreate it for repeated uses on different models (frequently seen in CAE-based Design of Experiments study).
CAE-Based simulation and Design of Experiments (DoE) are becoming mature and increasingly effective in development of complex industrial products such as automobiles. We present in this paper a CAE mesh-modeling paradigm that ultimately led to fast, automatic generation of a family of meshes based on a base design. This paradigm is hinged on the so-called mesh features to achieve productivity for modeling CAE meshes. Mesh features are self-contained mesh deformation operations that are context-free, stored separately from the base model, and can be applied to the model in a proper mix at any time. Libraries of mesh features can also be established to archive useful features for future use. Furthermore, by assigning mesh features for DoE factors, one can specify for the system the proper way to assemble features and apply them automatically to the base model to generate input meshes for a DoE study. Automatic generation of a family of DoE input meshes results in maximum time savings and minimum chances for errors, especially for applications involving large-scale CAE models.
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