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Recent advances in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and ‘Smart Products’ within manufacturing industries have promoted a shift to service-related offerings [1], often inadvertently and without the prerequisite foundations in place, in terms of operating models, impact upon revenue streams, and business strategy. This paper endeavors to investigate this by reviewing three distinct examples of ‘smart innovations’ for medium-sized industrial businesses and considers the impact upon the business when a service becomes ‘smart.’ We further review the impact and suggest mitigation approaches relevant to Servitization, and the key factors to enable a more effective digital transformation. Findings indicate that ‘Accidental Servitization’ can occur within industrial firms, irrespective of their digital experience. Also, that these firms need to ensure an underpinning organizational change is established to support new, disruptive business.

The design, development and evaluation of consumer electronics pose many challenges in the transition from initial concept to final product market release. In the automotive sector, in particular, due to the nature of these devices and to alleviate users’ safety concerns, the evaluation of such devices could be primarily performed in simulated and virtual environments. Device functionality can be evaluated objectively by measurement of user performance indicators. User acceptance of these technologies and attitude towards future use is, however, more difficult to formally access, but is considered as important a determinant of the success or failure of a product. The paper presents the virtual simulation requirements of two prototype AR HUD systems and two variations of Technology Acceptance Models (TAM) designed exclusively for their evaluation. The reasoning behind virtual simulations and utilisation of TAM variants in accessing and predicting user experience outcomes and intentions is discussed. In conclusion, a future plan for examining further the virtual simulation environments and additional TAM structures is proposed.

Multiple infotainment sources can significantly overload the driver’s cognitive load and increase the collision probabilities. Current solutions provided have attempted to alleviate this issue with the centralization of infotainment devices to single touchscreen devices in the dashboard area. Yet this solution still requires the driver to take the eyes from the road and concentrate on operating the secondary tasks unrelated to the driving process. The paper presents a prototype Augmented Reality Head-Up Display (AR HUD) system that superimposes a selected number of infotainment data on the vehicle’s windshield only when this is safe for the driver. The selection of infotainment data and projection timing is calculated by a prototype Artificial Intelligence (AI) Co-Driver that aims to reduce the driver’s cognitive load. The proposed system was evaluated by 50 users against a typical touchscreen dashboard system. This work presents and discusses the subjective feedback related to the cognitive load that the users perceived during the trials. The paper concludes with a future plan for improving both the AI and AR HUD elements to perform in an urban environment.

Centrifugal pumps are rotating machines which are widely used in process operations and other applications. Efficient and failure-free operation of these pumps is important for effective plant operation and productivity. However, the complexity of pumps, combined with continuous operation, can lead to failure and expensive maintenance requirements, thus motivating interest in on-line condition monitoring. This work investigates the application of frequency-domain analysis for classification of various centrifugal pump conditions. Seven conditions are considered, namely, healthy (non-faulty); five mechanical faults: misalignment, imbalance, faulty bearing, faulty impeller and mechanical looseness; and a hydraulic fault: cavitation. A centrifugal pump test rig was built specifically for this research to simulate each fault condition and acquire the resulting vibration measurements. Signals are acquired from the pump using an accelerometer which is mounted on its bearing housing, and a data acquisition device (DAQ) is used to acquire the signals. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is used to identify which types of faults generate stationary or non-stationary signals. However, the accuracy of detection for the non-stationary signals is shown to require further improvement, and alternate methods are suggested accordingly.

This paper introduces HCI design approach for an online shopping gestural-based interface. The proposed semi-immersive Virtual Reality (VR) interface aims to elevate the user experience in such indirect environment, where effective delivering of functional yet distinguishable experience effectively is crucial. The system comprises product customisation and personalization service, in which the product is visualized in a three-dimensional highly interactive manner.

Medical education is a dynamic field that witnesses continuous evolution and development. The employment of Virtual Reality (VR) based visualization and training environments in the delivery of anatomy teaching transfers the learning experience from one that involves memorising the structures without a true understanding of the 3-Dimensional (3D) relations, to a process that involves a thorough understanding of the structure based on visualisation rather than memorising, which makes the learning process more efficient and enjoyable, and less time consuming. This paper describes the development of a Virtual Reality and 3D visualisation system for anatomy teaching. The developed system offers a real-time 3D representation of the heart in an interactive VR environment that provides self-directed learning and assessment tools through a variety of interfaces and functionalities. To ensure the accuracy and precision of the developed system it was evaluated by a group of medical professionals.