Guanhua Li, Wei Dong Zhu, Huiyue Dong and Yinglin Ke
This paper aims to present error compensation based on surface reconstruction to improve the positioning accuracy of industrial robots.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present error compensation based on surface reconstruction to improve the positioning accuracy of industrial robots.
Design/methodology/approach
In previous research, it has been proved that the positioning error of industrial robots is continuous on the two-dimensional manifold of six-joint space. The point cloud generated by positioning error data can be used to fit the continuous surfaces, which makes it possible to apply surface reconstruction on error compensation. The moving least-squares interpolation and the B-spline method are used for the error surface reconstruction.
Findings
The results of experiments and simulations validate the effectiveness of error compensation by the moving least-squares interpolation and the B-spline method.
Practical implications
The proposed methods can control the average of compensated positioning error within 0.2 mm, which meets the requirement of a tolerance (±0.5 mm) for fastener hole drilling in aircraft assembly.
Originality/value
The error surface reconstruction based on the B-spline method has great superiority because fewer sample points are needed to use this method than others while keeping the compensation accuracy at the same level. The control points of the B-spline error surface can be adjusted with measured data, which can be applied for the error prediction in any temperature field.
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Dong Hong Zhu, Ya Wei Wang and Ya Ping Chang
The purpose of this paper is to understand the effect of online cross-recommendation of products from e-retailers on consumers’ instant cross-buying intention, and compare the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the effect of online cross-recommendation of products from e-retailers on consumers’ instant cross-buying intention, and compare the effect between the contexts that the decision making on focal product is difficult and easy.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the information adoption model, this paper develops a theoretical model to investigate how online cross-recommendation of products from e-retailers influence consumers’ instant cross-buying intention. Empirical data were collected from 224 online shoppers. The Partial Least Squares technique was used to test the proposed research model.
Findings
Choice confidence on focal product and perceived usefulness of cross-buying is the antecedents of instant cross-buying intention. Brand awareness of recommended product, one-stop shopping convenience, and perceived price advantage are the antecedents of perceived usefulness of cross-buying and choice confidence on focal product when the decision making on focal product is difficult, whereas brand awareness is not when it is easy to make focal product decision. Choice confidence on focal product positively affects perceived usefulness of cross-buying when it is easy to make focal product decision, whereas the effect is not significant when the decision making on focal product is difficult.
Originality/value
Knowledge about the effect of online cross-recommendation of products on instant cross-buying intention is scarce. This study reveals the psychological mechanism of the effect of online cross-recommendation of products on consumers’ instant cross-buying intention and finds that decision-making difficulty on focal product is an important moderator.
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Promoting people’s interest in sports is not only important to sports enterprises to improve financial performance but also to the healthy development of the whole society. As…
Abstract
Purpose
Promoting people’s interest in sports is not only important to sports enterprises to improve financial performance but also to the healthy development of the whole society. As virtual reality (VR) devices become more accessible and consumers’ demand for immersive experiences increases, VR advertising is gradually attracting the attention of advertisers. However, there is limited research on what situations are more suitable for VR advertising compared to traditional advertising forms in promoting people’s sport interest. This study aims to compare the influence of experiential VR advertising and informational video advertising on sport interest.
Design/methodology/approach
As sports programs are advertised not only to novices but also to experienced people, this study investigates the interaction effect of advertising type (experiential VR vs informational video) and previous experience (high vs low) on promoting sport interest. We recruited 216 participants. They were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: an experiential VR advertisement of table tennis played by using a VR headset and an informational video advertisement of table tennis watched on a PC.
Findings
The results show that experiential VR advertising generates higher sport interest than informational video advertising for those with low previous experience and vividness and presence play a sequential mediating role. For those with high previous experience, there was no significant difference between the two advertising forms.
Originality/value
The findings extend sport advertising research with different advertising types and complement the new moderator of previous experience, providing a new perspective for insight into the differences between VR advertising and video advertising.
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Dong Hong Zhu and Ya Ping Chang
Robotic chefs are starting to replace human chefs in restaurant industry. Whether customers have a good food quality prediction may have an important effect on their patronage…
Abstract
Purpose
Robotic chefs are starting to replace human chefs in restaurant industry. Whether customers have a good food quality prediction may have an important effect on their patronage decision. Based on the stereotype content model, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of robotic chef anthropomorphism on food quality prediction through warmth and competence.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical analysis was done to test the theoretical model by using the SmartPLS software. A nonhuman-like robotic chef and a robotic chef with humanoid hands were used as background materials in the questionnaire. The effective sample was 221.
Findings
Robotic chef anthropomorphism affects food quality prediction through the sequential mediators of warmth and competence. Age is a significant control variable.
Research limitations/implications
Robotic chef anthropomorphism positively affects food quality prediction. The halo effect of warmth perception on competence perception should be considered in the context of robot anthropomorphism.
Practical implications
Restaurants which feature robotic chefs should use robotic chefs with anthropomorphic designs and promote the anthropomorphic elements of robotic chefs in advertisements.
Social implications
The anthropomorphic design of robot chefs will facilitate the development of artificial intelligence in restaurants in the future.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first to focus on how robotic chef anthropomorphism affects food quality prediction and reveals the roles of warmth and competence in the influence of robotic chef anthropomorphism on food quality prediction.
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Dong Hong Zhu, Hui Sun and Ya Ping Chang
With the development of location-based services and mobile phones, local retailing stores have the opportunity to send location-based advertisings (LBAs) to consumers at a right…
Abstract
Purpose
With the development of location-based services and mobile phones, local retailing stores have the opportunity to send location-based advertisings (LBAs) to consumers at a right time and right place. However, knowledge about the influence of LBAs on consumers’ store patronage is limited. The purpose of this paper is to understand how the content of LBAs influences consumers’ store patronage intention. In particular, the paper investigates the influence of perceived accuracy and transaction cost reduction from the content of LBAs on consumers’ store patronage intention through the emotional reactions of pleasure and arousal.
Design/methodology/approach
This study developed a theoretical model to examine how the content of LBAs influences the store patronage intention of consumers. Empirical data were collected from 351 undergraduate and graduate students. The partial least squares technique was used to test the research model.
Findings
Perceived accuracy and transaction cost reduction from the content of LBAs have a significant influence on the store patronage intention of consumers through pleasure and arousal. Brand image and purchase plan are control variables.
Originality/value
Knowledge about the influence of LBAs on consumer store patronage is limited. This study provides empirical evidence about how perceived accuracy and transaction cost reduction from the content of LBAs affect the emotional reactions of consumers and then determine their store patronage intention.
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Robot chefs and robot waiters have emerged in the restaurant industry. Based on the curiosity theory and the stimulus–organism–response paradigm, this study aims to understand the…
Abstract
Purpose
Robot chefs and robot waiters have emerged in the restaurant industry. Based on the curiosity theory and the stimulus–organism–response paradigm, this study aims to understand the influence of robot restaurant attributes on customer behavioral intention before purchase.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on research data from 289 respondents comprising undergraduates, postgraduates and non-students in China, the theoretical model is tested via the partial least squares technique.
Findings
Food quality perception directly affects regular patronage intention, but it has no significant influence on experience intention. Service quality perception and high-tech atmosphere perception positively affect experience intention and regular patronage intention through the mediator of interest in robot restaurants.
Originality/value
Different from previous studies focusing on human employee restaurants, this study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, is the first to systematically investigate the influence of robot restaurant attributes on customer behavioral intention, and it finds that these attributes have their own uniqueness vis-à-vis influencing customer behavioral intention.
研究目的
机器人厨师和机器人服务员已经出现在餐饮业。基于好奇心理论和刺激-有机体-反应模型, 本研究旨在了解机器人餐厅属性对顾客购买前行为意向的影响。
研究设计/方法/路径
基于来自中国289名本科生、研究生和非学生的研究数据, 通过偏最小二乘法对理论模型进行了检验。
研究发现
食品质量感知直接影响常客意愿, 但对体验意愿没有显着影响。服务质量感知和高科技氛围感知通过对机器人餐厅的兴趣作为中介变量正向影响体验意愿和常客意愿。
研究原创性
与以往专注于人类员工餐厅的研究不同, 本研究首次系统地研究了机器人餐厅属性对顾客行为意图的影响, 并发现这些属性在影响顾客行为意图方面具有其独特性。
关键词
机器人餐厅, 体验意向, 惠顾意向, 食物品质, 服务质量, 氛围
文章类型
研究型论文
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Dong Zhu, Liping Hou, Mo Chen and Bocheng Bao
The purpose of this paper is to develop an field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based neuron circuit to mimic dynamical behaviors of tabu learning neuron model.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop an field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based neuron circuit to mimic dynamical behaviors of tabu learning neuron model.
Design/methodology/approach
Numerical investigations for the tabu learning neuron model show the coexisting behaviors of bi-stability. To reproduce the numerical results by hardware experiments, a digitally FPGA-based neuron circuit is constructed by pure floating-point operations to guarantee high computational accuracy. Based on the common floating-point operators provided by Xilinx Vivado software, the specific functions used in the neuron model are designed in hardware description language programs. Thus, by using the fourth-order Runge-Kutta algorithm and loading the specific functions orderly, the tabu learning neuron model is implemented on the Xilinx FPGA board.
Findings
With the variation of the activation gradient, the initial-related coexisting attractors with bi-stability are found in the tabu learning neuron model, which are experimentally demonstrated by a digitally FPGA-based neuron circuit.
Originality/value
Without any piecewise linear approximations, a digitally FPGA-based neuron circuit is implemented using pure floating-point operations, from which the initial conditions-related coexisting behaviors are experimentally demonstrated in the tabu learning neuron model.
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Yubing Dong, Chen Qian, Jian Lu and Yaqin Fu
Epoxy (EP) and polye-caprolactone (PCL) are typical dual-shape memory polymer (DSMP). To get excellent triple-shape memory effect (TSME) polymer composites which are made from EP…
Abstract
Purpose
Epoxy (EP) and polye-caprolactone (PCL) are typical dual-shape memory polymer (DSMP). To get excellent triple-shape memory effect (TSME) polymer composites which are made from EP and PCL. Miscible PCL/EP blend composites have been investigated and compared to the TSMEs with electrospun PCL microfiber membranes/EP composites. Clay montmorillonite (MMT)-modified electrospun PCL microfiber membranes were prepared to improve the shape memory fixities of electrospun PCL microfiber membranes/EP composites.
Design/methodology/approach
The morphologies of electrospun PCL microfiber membranes and the cross section of PCL/EP composites were studied using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), and the existence of MMT was confirmed by a transmission electron microscope. Thermal mechanical properties were observed by a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and a dynamic thermomechanical analysis machine, and the TSMEs were also determined through dynamic mechanical analysis.
Findings
Results indicate that the TSMEs of electrospun PCL microfiber membranes/EP composites were excellent, whereas the TSMEs of PCL/EP blend composites were poor. The TSMEs of PCL electrospun microfiber membranes/EP composites significantly improved with the addition of the PCL electrospun microfiber modified with moderate MMT.
Research limitations/implications
Adding a moderate content of MMT into the electrospun PCL fibers, could improve the TSME of the PCL fiber membranes/EP composites. This study was to create a simple and effective method that can be applied to improve the performance of other SMP.
Originality/value
A novel triple-shape memory composite were made from dual-shape memory EP and electrospun PCL fiber membranes.
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Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and…
Abstract
Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).
The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.
This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.
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Rong Gu, Miaoliang Zhu, Liying Zhao and Ningning Zhang
Behaviour in virtual learning environments (VLE), including travel, gaze, manipulate, gesture and conversation, offer considerable information about the user's implicit interest…
Abstract
Purpose
Behaviour in virtual learning environments (VLE), including travel, gaze, manipulate, gesture and conversation, offer considerable information about the user's implicit interest. The purpose of this study is to find an approach for user interest mining via behaviour analysis in a VLE.
Design/methodology/approach
According to research in psychology, any interaction in a VLE has implications for the user's implicit interest. In order to mine a user's implicit interest, an explicit interaction‐interest model needs to be established. This paper presents findings from the concept classification of behaviour in a VLE. Based on this classification, the paper proposes a hierarchical interaction model. In this model the relation between interaction and user interest can be described and used to improve system performance.
Findings
In the experimental prototype the authors found that user‐implicit interest could be mined via stages of web mining, i.e. capture the user's original gesture signal, data pre‐process, pattern discovery, interaction goal and interest mining. The mined user's interest information can be used to update the state of local interest, leading to a reduction in network traffic and promotion of better system performance.
Originality/value
This is an original study using behaviour analysis for interest mining in e‐learning. Research on interest mining in e‐learning focused on content mining or search engine and usage mining in web courses. The paper provides valuable clues regarding user interest mining in a VLE, in which the context is different from usual web courses. The research output can be implemented widely, including online learning, and especially in the VLE.