ImMApp: An immersive database of sound art

The ImMApp (Immersive Mapping Application) thesis addresses contemporary and historical sound art from a position informed by, on one hand, post-structural critical theory, and on the other, a practice-based exploration of contemporary digital technologies (MySQL, XML, XSLT, X3D). It proposes a critical ontological schema derived from Michel Foucault's Archaeology of Knowledge (1972) and applies this to pre-existing information resources dealing with sound art. Firstly an analysis of print-based discourses (Sound by Artists. Lander and Lexier (1990), Noise, Water, Meat. Kahn (2001) and Background Noise: Perspectives on Sound Art. LaBelle (2006» is carried out according to Foucauldian notions of genealogy, subject positions, the statement, institutional affordances and the productive nature of discursive formation. The discursive field (the archive) presented by these major canonical texts is then contrasted with a formulation derived from Giles Deleuze and Felix Guattari: that of a 'minor' history of sound art practices. This is then extended by media theory (McLuhan, Kittler, Manovich) into a critique of two digital sound art resources (The Australian Sound Design Project (Bandt and Paine (2005) and soundtoys.net Stanza (1998). The divergences between the two forms of information technologies (print vs. digital) are discussed. The means by which such digitised methodologies may enhance Foucauldian discourse analysis points onwards towards the two practice-based elements of the thesis. Surface, the first iterative part, is a web-browser based database built on an Apache/MySQIlXML architecture. It is the most extensive mapping of sound art undertaken to date and extends the theoretical framework discussed above into the digital domain. Immersion, the second part, is a re-presentation of this material in an immersive digital environment, following the transformation of the source material via XSL-T into X3D. Immersion is a real-time, large format video, surround sound (5.ln.l) installation and the thesis concludes with a discussion of how this outcome has articulated Foucauldian archaeological method and unframed pre-existing notions of the nature of sound art

Modern Information Systems

The development of modern information systems is a demanding task. New technologies and tools are designed, implemented and presented in the market on a daily bases. User needs change dramatically fast and the IT industry copes to reach the level of efficiency and adaptability for its systems in order to be competitive and up-to-date. Thus, the realization of modern information systems with great characteristics and functionalities implemented for specific areas of interest is a fact of our modern and demanding digital society and this is the main scope of this book. Therefore, this book aims to present a number of innovative and recently developed information systems. It is titled "Modern Information Systems" and includes 8 chapters. This book may assist researchers on studying the innovative functions of modern systems in various areas like health, telematics, knowledge management, etc. It can also assist young students in capturing the new research tendencies of the information systems' development

Computer Science's Digest Volume 2

This series of textbooks was created for the students of the Systems Engineering Program at the University of Nariño. They have been intentionally written in English to promote reading in a foreign language. The textbooks are a collection of reflections and workshops on specific situations in the field of computer science, based on the authors’ experiences. The main purpose of these textbooks is essentially academic. The way in which the reflections and workshops were constructed follows a didactic structure, to facilitate teaching and learning, making use of English as a second language. This book covers Internet and Multimedia Technology, System Analysis and Design, and Software Engineerin

Performance impact of Java3D binary serialized files on multiresolution terrains

This thesis describes an exploratory study that measures the overall performance impact on a textured and non-textured multiresolution terrain rendering system when using pre-processed Java3D binary files. Much of the work has focussed on studying fundamental concepts and algorithms for processing large virtual terrains. Based on the output from this work, a software testbed capable of collecting quantitative measures from the rendering output was implemented. The testbed was implemented in order to be able to study, and understand, the performance impact of Java3D binary serialized files by looking at the entirety of a virtual terrain rendering system. The testbed implements a novel approach to LOD control using the high level graphics API Java3D, and we will argue that this approach is viable for generating large virtual terrains. The performance comparisons are made by running a set of tests that simulate typical user operations performed in virtual terrain software. Based on the output from the testing, the thesis gives guidance on when it is most appropriate to use Java3D binary serialized file

The augmented reality framework : an approach to the rapid creation of mixed reality environments and testing scenarios

Debugging errors during real-world testing of remote platforms can be time consuming and expensive when the remote environment is inaccessible and hazardous such as deep-sea. Pre-real world testing facilities, such as Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL), are often not available due to the time and expense necessary to create them. Testing facilities tend to be monolithic in structure and thus inflexible making complete redesign necessary for slightly different uses. Redesign is simpler in the short term than creating the required architecture for a generic facility. This leads to expensive facilities, due to reinvention of the wheel, or worse, no testing facilities. Without adequate pre-real world testing, integration errors can go undetected until real world testing where they are more costly to diagnose and rectify, e.g. especially when developing Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs). This thesis introduces a novel framework, the Augmented Reality Framework (ARF), for rapid construction of virtual environments for Augmented Reality tasks such as Pure Simulation, HIL, Hybrid Simulation and real world testing. ARF’s architecture is based on JavaBeans and is therefore inherently generic, flexible and extendable. The aim is to increase the performance of constructing, reconfiguring and extending virtual environments, and consequently enable more mature and stable systems to be developed in less time due to previously undetectable faults being diagnosed earlier in the pre-real-world testing phase. This is only achievable if test harnesses can be created quickly and easily, which in turn allows the developer to visualise more system feedback making faults easier to spot. Early fault detection and less wasted real world testing leads to a more mature, stable and less expensive system. ARF provides guidance on how to connect and configure user made components, allowing for rapid prototyping and complex virtual environments to be created quickly and easily. In essence, ARF tries to provide intuitive construction guidance which is similar in nature to LEGOR pieces which can be so easily connected to form useful configurations. ARF is demonstrated through case studies which show the flexibility and applicability of ARF to testing techniques such as HIL for UUVs. In addition, an informal study was carried out to asses the performance increases attributable to ARF’s core concepts. In comparison to classical programming methods ARF’s average performance increase was close to 200%. The study showed that ARF was incredibly intuitive since the test subjects were novices in ARF but experts in programming. ARF provides key contributions in the field of HIL testing of remote systems by providing more accessible facilities that allow new or modified testing scenarios to be created where it might not have been feasible to do so before. In turn this leads to early detection of faults which in some cases would not have ever been detected before

Technology 2003: The Fourth National Technology Transfer Conference and Exposition, volume 2

Proceedings from symposia of the Technology 2003 Conference and Exposition, Dec. 7-9, 1993, Anaheim, CA, are presented. Volume 2 features papers on artificial intelligence, CAD&E, computer hardware, computer software, information management, photonics, robotics, test and measurement, video and imaging, and virtual reality/simulation

A teamwork-oriented air traffic control simulator

Air Traffic Control (ATC) is a complicated domain in which many specialists should collaborate and communicate with each other in order to guarantee safe and efficient air traffic. A significant number of air traffic control errors are associated with either faulty coordination between ATC actors, or a failure of some kind of team coordination. These errors are likely to increase in the future as aircraft density increases. Many researchers suggest that the introduction of team and teamwork concepts during the training phase of the ATC actors will be in help to reduce the amount of these errors. The objective of this research is to conceive, design, and implement a teamwork-oriented Air Traffic Control simulator that can be easily installed and used in ATC schools. The product of this thesis will be a complete software package that allows trainees in the different ATC specialties to work together in the same manner as they do "on-the-job" in order to collaboratively manage an air traffic situation. This type of simulator should allow air traffic control trainees to acquire more robust coordination skills and reduce the amount of traffic control errors caused by lack of teamwork in actual ATC training situations.http://archive.org/details/ateamworkoriente109452716Tunisian Air Force author.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Autonomous user feeding by a Physically Assistive Robot

En aquest projecte proposem un robot capaç de donar de menjar a persones autònomament. El seu comportament té en compte l'estat del món i els requisits de l'usuari per a decidir quines són les millors accions a executar en cada situació.In this thesis, we propose a robot capable of feeding a person autonomously. Its behavior takes into account the state of the world and the user requirements in order to decide which are the best set of actions that need to be performed in each situation

Real Time Log Length Measurement Using GPU Accelerated Visual Odometry

This thesis studies GPU accelerated visual odometry in measuring log length. The visual odometry would not suffer slippage nor require recalibration depending type of wood or temperature conditions compared to mechanical measurement. The requirement of the real-time performance is quite high. Image capturing in 120 Hz frequency is needed as log is moved several meters per second by harvester heads. Here GPU acceleration will be used as it can give speedup in magnitude of hundreds or more. Real-time performance is targeted by selecting fast algorithms for subtasks of measurement pipeline and considering possibilities to parallelize algorithm. In many cases performance boost is achieved, but not in expected magnitude. Physical constraints of the graphics card hardware become easily the limiting factor in parallelization. Real-time performance was achieved in this thesis but not with required accuracy. It remained for future work to find out which algorithms would give both targets.  Taman lisensiaatintutkimuksen aiheena on GPU laskennan kaytto konenäköön perustuvassa tukin pituuden mittauksessa. Konenäköön perustuva pituuden mittaus ei tarvitse uudelleen kalibrointia puulajin tai lämpötilan mukaan. Konenäköön perustuvassa mittauksessa myöskaan mittapyöra ei voi luistaa tukin pinnalla. Realiaikaisuuden vaatimus on tässä sovelluksessa korkea. Kuvat on otettu 120 Hz taajuudella, koska leikkuupää liikuttaa tukkia useita metrejä sekunnissa. GPU laskenta potentiaalisesti nopeuttaisi laskentaa tarvittavissa määrin. Realiaikaista vastetta haettiin seka algoritmien valinnalla etta harkitsemalla mahdollisuuksia rinnaisohjelmoinnin käyttämiseen. Monessa tapauksessa vasteet paranivat, vaikka grafiikkakortin ominaisuudet usein rajoittivat rinnaikkaisohjelmoinnista saatavaa hyötyä. Realiaikainen vaste saavutettiin, mutta ei tarvittavalla pituuden mittaamisen tarkkuudella. Molempien tavoitteiden saavuttaminen jai mahdollisten jatkotöiden tehtäväksi