Consists of all the information that is available for a specific artifact, such as specifications, construction and manufacturing plans, sketches, images, manuals and inspection and maintenance plans…
When
For the life cycle of engineered systems;
Different stages (Construction and Manufacturing, Inspection, Maintenance) of the life cycle of Engineered Systems (buildings, automobiles) need specific engineering information.
Where
Away from the desktop.
Mobile workers need engineering information not only at the office, but especially at the construction site, on the shop floor and at maintenance facilities.
How
By using mobile and wearable CAE Systems;
To access engineering information away from the desktop, the mobile workforce needs mobile IT support that is natural, easy to use, and truly supportive of the task.
Mission
Our mission is to do enabling research on mobile and wearable CAE systems. This research includes the following tasks:
To determine necessary levels of detail of information for given tasks or contexts;
Effective support must offer as much necessary information as possible, with the least information overhead possible.
To develop and assess tools for rapid, knowledge-based development of mobile IT support;
Rapid prototyping enables early field-testing opportunities and thus validation and verification of the envisioned system. Therefore, we see the need for standardized tools and frameworks, which support developer to create system based on experiences made in previous projects.
To identify and caracterize commercially available hardware components for building cost-effective, context-appropriate mobile and wearable CAE systems;
One of our key concepts is to test and incorporate commercially available components and to integrate and enhance them with customized software to usable, effective systems. Part of this effort is to foresee which of these components will become standard products that can be included in long-term IT strategies without quickly becoming obsolete or outdated.
To identify, develop and test appropriate user interfaces and interaction means;
Using mobile and wearable computer systems in an engineering context means to see these systems as “Tools”, rather than toys or high-tech porno gadgets. Only in applying appropriate user interfaces for effective interaction, we can make IT support an essential part of the “Toolbelt”.
To test with real engineering applications and users;
Finally, we are committed to learn from real-world examples and implementations. We can only accomplished this by field-testing at the actual job site and getting feedback from the people who will use the systems in the future.