Immersive virtual world environments, such as Second Life T M (SL), have the potential to dramatically improve the process of analyzing usability within technically correct system simulations, long before the system is built. We report our findings with the SL simulation of a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system. The SL model and simulation were done according to the original technical specifications. In interacting with this simulation, the system designers were able to identify several usability issues that would have gone unnoticed in a non-immersive simulation environment. Namely: (1) a problem with the design of the offramp to the station; (2) further requirements for the design of the top of the vehicles, so that the suspended track is out of direct sight of the people inside; (3) further safety requirements for dealing with unexpected obstacles along the path.While all of these issues would have been identified upon deployment of the physical prototype, the contribution of our work is to show how usability issues like these can now be identified much earlier, using simulations in a virtual world.

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One of the most widespread methods of heating is induction mass heating because it offers certain advantages over similar technologies, including convectional and electrical heating. A significant economical effect can be achieved through optimization of heating modes and design parameters of induction heaters on the basis of modern optimal control theory for distributed parameters systems. The paper is devoted to the numerical simulation and optimal with respect to typical quality criteria control of thermal modes for metals induction heating before hot forming operations. Two-dimensional non-linear time-optimal control problem, problem of maximum heating accuracy and problem of minimum energy consumption are formulated and reduced to the mathematical programming problems. Optimization procedures are based on the developed at SamSTU alternance method of optimal control theory for distributed parameters systems. 2D FLUX code provides FEM analysis of interrelated electromagnetic and temperature fields during induction heating of a cylindrical billet before its hot forming. The model integrated into optimization procedures provides options for variation of the heating system parameters or billet geometry, and for evaluating the process optimization abilities. Computational results for optimal heating of aluminum cylindrical billets are shown and analyzed.

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