Bits and bytes

Out of the lab and into the pub

“There’s a lot of discussion and media attention about augmented reality (AR) and the multibillion dollar market it will become in the near future,” says Queen’s

Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Michael Greenspan. “A lot of companies are trying to create development platforms in the hopes of essentially becoming the MS Windows of AR.”

Greenspan is banking on a different strategy, though, one that delivers to consumers a complete AR system with a single killer application. To that end, he and his research team have developed Procam Pool.

A blend of the terms “projector” and ”camera,” Procam Pool is a gaming system that uses AR technology to make billiards much more fun and easier to learn for novice and intermediate players. It’s sort of a combination pool table and video game. Here’s how it works: Players rack real balls on a real wood-andslate pool table. After the break, Procam Pool uses computer vision, sophisticated algorithms and graphics projection to identify the positions of the various balls in play and, with graphical elements projected onto the table from over head, helps players to plan where various shots will end up and how the balls might be positioned after the shot.

It’s a project that started a few years ago as a fourth-year design project that advanced to a master’s thesis and now a marketable product. Five ProCam Pool units were installed last year in O’Leary’s Sports Restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden.

“They’re in there, they’re running and we get feedback that it’s a great experience,” says Greenspan.

Greenspan says he and his team continue to refine the system by incorporating feedback from players and adding new features. They’re also actively seeking clients who want to share Procam Pool with their friends and customers. “I can see a time when every pool table has a Procam system”, says Greenspan, “and this is just one example of many where this technology will be successfully applied.”

Engineering prof receives a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant

For people with disabilities, assistive technologies can save hours each day and be foundational to independent living. But making the most helpful tools for them is a notoriously complicated, expensive and time-consuming process.

Imagine, though, if virtually any device could be conjured up as needed by anyone with access to a 3D printer. Someone who needs a prosthetic arm and hand, for example, could simply choose one from a digital catalogue of proven designs and have it inexpensively printed to size and fit within just a few hours. If it’s not quite right, not quite comfortable or not quite as useful as predicted, the new device could just as quickly be modified in whole or in part to suit the user’s needs and preferences.

“Adherence is a huge issue in any assistive technology,” says Queen’s Engineering Professor Claire Davies. “If the end user can decide what they want and it gets done for them—if it’s developed by them for them—they’re going to wear it. We want to make it do-it-yourself technology.”

It’s a future at least partly at hand but 3D-print technology is still evolving. As it does, Davies is experimenting with new ways to best apply it to the development of new assistive devices.

“We’ve had hands printed by a couple of different machines and they really don’t meet quality standards,” says Davies. “So, I’m working on a proposal for a 3D printer capable of working with stronger plastics so we can develop devices that are really useable by people.”

As part of that wider mission, Davies has also secured a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant so she and PhD student Liz Delarosa can synthesize information about the state of the art of 3D-printed assistive devices. They hope to learn more about what assistive devices are being printed today in industry and among hobbyists.

“Liz’s background is actually occupational therapy and social work,” says Davies. “Together we’re working on understanding all aspects of the design process so we can build a complete task analysis and understand the functional requirements for designing according to those needs.”

Kent Novakowski, Head of the Department of Civil Engineering, second from left, with students at the Kennedy Field Station

Queen’s joins SOWC

The Southern Ontario Water Consortium (SOWC) is a partnership of 10 universities and private sector organizations that seeks to commercialize innovative water technologies by providing researchers with funding and access to real-world facilities. Queen’s joined SOWC in March.

“Our membership presents Queen’s researchers with new opportunities for funding and partnerships with industry and access to highly specialized infrastructure,” says Steven Liss, Vice-Principal (Research).

Queen’s footprint in water technology research includes more than 50 faculty researchers, most of whom are part of the Water Research Centre. The interdisciplinary centre is dedicated to furthering research on water governance, sustainability and protection of water resources, among other topics.

“The Water Research Centre represents researchers from many disciplines across campus,” says centre director and Queen’s Civil Engineering professor, Kent Novakowski.

“Our diversity of membership represents an ideal environment for collaboration and we are excited to explore the partnerships afforded by the SOWC. Several of Queen’s unique facilities will expand SOWC’s current offerings. The Queen’s Coastal Engineering Laboratory, the largest university hydraulics laboratory in the country, provides researchers with the technology required to study coastal engineering, natural channel design and sediment transport. Multiple wave flumes, a coastal models basin, a rotating water flume and closed pipelines enable researchers to tackle a broad range of water issues including river engineering, lake dynamics, water supply systems and Tsunami/Landslide interaction.

The Kennedy Field Station is another unique Queen’s facility. Located on 200 acres near Tamworth, Ontario, the station is situated in a sensitive geological setting and is part of the Salmon River Watershed, a tributary of the Great Lakes. The Station is a result of a Queen’s Alumni donation, and has become a valued teaching and research site for students and faculty. The Kennedy Field Station features enhancements that allows students to participate in hand-on, field-intensive courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Kennedy station is ideal for water research and education due to a naturalized riverfront, existing environmental instruments, a water control structure and a variety of soil and physical features.

The Water Research Centre is supported in part through the RBC Queen’s University Water Initiative, a ten-year program bringing together researchers and industry partners to expand research, training, and outreach activities focused on sustainable watershed science, education and protection. It provides hands-on learning for graduate and undergraduate students within a world-class research and teaching environment.

Civil Professor appointed Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies

Effective July 1st, Dr. Amir Fam, the Donald and Sarah Munro Chair in Engineering and Applied Science, will begin a thee-year term as the Associate Dean (Research and Graduate Studies) in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. Dr. Fam holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from Alexandria University and an MSc and PhD in Civil Engineering (structures) from the University of Manitoba. From 2000 to 2002, he was a Post-doctoral Fellow and Instructor at North Carolina State University (NCSU), Raleigh, NC. He joined the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science in the Department of Civil Engineering at Queen`s University as an Assistant Professor in 2002, and was promoted to Full Professor in 2009. Dr. Fam held the position of a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Innovative and Retrofitted Structures (2003-2013). In his new role, Dr. Fam hopes to use his experience to serve the Faculty, building on the excellent momentum established by the Faculty in the past few years. He plans to continue promoting research and scholarship and assist in developing large collaborative research projects and attracting top domestic and international graduate students.

Queen’s Civil Engineering Professor Amir Fam has been named FEAS Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies.

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