The paper presents a methodology to create 3D digital and virtual artefacts in the field of archaeology using CAD software solution. The methodology includes the following steps: the digitalization process, the digital restoration and the dissemination process within a virtual environment. The resulted 3D digital artefacts have to be created in files formats that are compatible with a large variety of operating systems and hardware configurations such as: computers, graphic tablets and smartphones. The compatibility and portability of these 3D file formats has led to a series of quality related compromises to the 3D models in order to integrate them on in a wide variety of application that are running on different hardware configurations. The paper illustrates multiple virtual reality and augmented reality application that make use of the virtual 3D artefacts that have been generated using this methodology.

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When knowledge is developed fast, as it is the case so often nowadays, one of the main difficulties in initiating new research in any field is to identify the domain's specific state-of-the-art and trends. In this context, to evaluate the potential of a research niche by assisting the literature review process and to add a new and modern large-scale and automated dimension to it, the paper proposes a methodology that uses "Latent Semantic Analysis" (LSA) for identifying trends, focused within the knowledge space created at the intersection of three sustainability-related methodologies/concepts: "virtual Quality Management" (vQM), "Industry 4.0", and "Product Life-Cycle" (PLC). The LSA was applied to a significant number of scientific papers published around these concepts to generate ontology charts that describe the knowledge structure of each by the frequency, position, and causal relation of associated notions. These notions are combined for defining the common high-density knowledge zone from where new technological solutions are expected to emerge throughout the PLC. The authors propose the concept of the knowledge space, which is characterized through specific descriptors with their own evaluation scales, obtained by processing the emerging information as identified by a combination of classic and innovative techniques. The results are validated through an investigation that surveys a relevant number of general managers, specialists, and consultants in the field of quality in the automotive sector from Romania. This practical demonstration follows each step of the theoretical approach and yields results that prove the capability of the method to contribute to the understanding and elucidation of the scientific area to which it is applied. Once validated, the method could be transferred to fields with similar characteristics. Even if their creators endowed them with a clear meaning at an incipient stage, when they become more popular in an emerging area, these concepts are quickly surrounded by a large amount of new knowledge that is developed with an amazing speed, enriching and enlarging their initial sphere.The "virtual Quality Management" (vQM) concept could be a significant example for the circumstances described previously. It is born through a semantic operation, joining two established and mature concepts: "virtual" and "QM", thus it is representative for an area which is in a period of high dynamic development and of interest for companies preoccupied with sustainability from the perspective of operations management and organizational culture.In this context in which the amount of information relating to new concepts quickly reaches unmanageable levels, regardless of the field, solutions that can analyze extended documentation with the purpose of disambiguating information and capturing the essentials, thus creating knowledge, become the focus of attention and gain in importance. Traditional solutions for that purpose lay in the literature review process, trying to collect, select, filter, and struc...

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Following cardiac surgery, patients experience difficulties with the rehabilitation process, often finding it difficult, and therefore lack the motivation for rehabilitation activities. As the number of people aged 65 and over will rise by 207 percent globally by 2050, the need for cardiac rehabilitation will significantly increase, as this is the main population to experience heart problems. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a new robotic exoskeleton concept with 12 DoFs (6 DoFs on each arm), with a symmetrical structure for the upper limbs, to be used in the early rehabilitation of cardiac patients after open-heart surgery. The electromechanical design (geometric, kinematic, and dynamic model), the control architecture, and the VR-based operating module of the robotic exoskeleton are presented. To solve the problem of the high degree of complexity regarding the CardioVR-ReTone kinematic and dynamic model, the iterative algorithm, kinetic energy, and generalized forces were used. The results serve as a complete model of the exoskeleton, from a kinematic and dynamic point of view as well as to the selection of the electric motors, control system, and VR motivation model. The validation of the concept was achieved by evaluating the exoskeleton structure from an ergonomic point of view, emphasizing the movements that will be part of the cardiac rehabilitation.