In this project we propose to investigate techniques that will allow an additional human sense, haptic touch (or reflected force), to be sent over the Internet. Today's telecommunications and computer networks have been designed to carry information that pertains to only two human senses: the auditory sense (for example sound and speech), and the visual sense (for example video, graphic, and text etc). The Internet is now being reengineered so that it can provide different levels of service for different types of traffic, e.g. to support the transport of voice over its IP protocol (VOIP). This has lead to the design of network architectures that can support different Quality of Service (QoS) levels. It is clear that introducing into networks the ability to carry information relating to other senses will open up an enormous potential for both new and dramatically improved applications. The ability to embed touch or force into applications and then distribute them across the Internet will have significant implications in areas such as collaborative design, immersive reality and teleconferencing, distance learning and training, virtual reality showrooms and museums. It is now also recognised that the introduction of a haptic component to interactive games has increased users' quality of experience, and this has in turn increased the market demand for these types of applications. It is also clear that the network service (i.e. QoS) needed to support other senses such as touch (haptics) will be significantly different from that which currently exists.Almost all haptic applications are designed whereby the haptic device is connected to a single stand-alone system, or where dedicated connections are used to provide remote interaction. Architecting the Internet to provide an acceptable service for distributed haptic applications therefore represents a significant challenge that this research aims to address. A related challenge is to design architectures that can scale to support the QoS required for the interaction of multiple haptic devices (or users).Recent research has shown that each type of network impairment affects the sense of force feedback in a particular way. Network delay can make the user feel a virtual object before it is visually in contact, or to move into solid objects. Delay also desynchronizes the different copies of the virtual environment. Jitter makes the user feel that the object's mass is variable. Packet loss can reduce the amount the force felt by the user. The effect of these impairments is to introduce unwanted artefacts into the virtual environment. However they also effect the interaction with the physical world and a more serious consequence is to cause damage to the haptic device, and in some situations may also cause physical damage to the end user. To date, the network has not been seriously considered in the design of haptic compensation algorithms. However the introduction of graded QoS architectures (e.g. Diffserv) into the next generation Internet now offers the capability to bound effects such as packet delay jitter and loss. These guarantees can be used to offer specific levels of tolerance (spatial and haptic) to different applications. Therefore a major contribution of the research will be to develop compensation techniques that consider the current level of service that the network can offer and map these against different types of haptic applications.A series of trials investigating the performance of the derived architectures and compensation algorithms will be conducted with the collaborators who represent key constituents in this technology area: BT (network operator, UK), LABEIN (haptic applications, Spain), HandshakeVR (haptics software, Canada), and Immersion (haptic device manufacturer, California). The results will provide valuable knowledge to the designers of future devices, DHVEs and to the designers of the networks that have to support them.

EDRIVE-MEC: All Electric Drive Train for Marine Energy Converters Conversion of energy from wave into electricity is ideally performed by a PTO and power conditioning system that can convert motion in multiple directions, react large forces or torques whilst operating at low velocity, variable voltage and frequency, with high reliability, availability and efficiency over a wide range of loads. All aspects of this demanding specification contribute directly to the Life Time Cost of Energy and hence economic feasibility of devices. At present no single PTO technology that has been demonstrated is able to meet this specification for wave energy. The two main options for the PTO used in a wave device: hydraulics and direct drive. Wave device developers have focussed on using hydraulics as the PTO, whether it be high pressure oil or water (Pelamis, Aquamarine). In discussions with our industrial partners we learnt that the only reason for using hydraulics was due its availability off the shelf, but all partners were concerned about the limitations including, low efficiency at part load; ability to control over a wide range of frequencies; and displacement leading to potential end-stop problems. The alternative to hydraulics is direct drive, in which the mechanical interface is eliminated, but now the generator has to operate at low velocity and high force. Direct drive systems have been proven through lab tests at Durham and Edinburgh, and through sea trials by Uppsala in Sweden, Archimedes Wave Swing and Oregon State University. In each of these cases a permanent magnet synchronous machine has been used and the generator has been of a linear planar or tubular topology. Energy can only be taken out of the device from motion in one direction, principally heave, whereas devices surge and pitch as well as heave. The use of linear generators in their current form has constrained the functionality of direct drive power take off systems, as it has not allowed energy to be converted from more than one motion. No consideration has been given to speed enhancing techniques, such as magnetic gear boxes, as developed at Sheffield for rotary machines, or the use of springs, either internally produced through control, or external physical springs, such as air springs. Speed enhancing allows a more optimised machine design, resulting in a reduction in physical size and an increase in efficiency. Previous work in direct drive power take off has proved the concept will work, but solutions are not fully optimised, designed for reliability or matched to the characteristics of the wave device. As with the generator, developers have proved the concept of connecting direct drive systems to the grid, but making use of conventional power converter approaches. However, it is well known that there is a reliability issue with power converters in the wind industry, and in the tidal sector developers use an onshore power converter for easy access. The main cause of faults within the power converter is the continuous thermal cycling due to the variable nature of wind and wave. There is therefore an opportunity to investigate alternative power converter solutions, such as multi-level systems, where the stress on the power devices are now shared across a number of devices. The main aim of the project has been formulated in discussions with our industrial partners: develop an integrated electrical power take off system with non-mechanical speed enhancement, integrated and reliable flexible power electronics, providing adaptive control over a range of operating regimes, taking into account nominal and extreme load conditions. E-DRIVE proposes to fulfil this aim through the development of novel integrated low speed generators with speed enhancement and power converter topologies with associated control to replace hydraulic systems. In doing so we will mirror developments in all/more electric systems in automotive and aerospace.