783 research outputs found
Simulation modelling and visualisation: toolkits for building artificial worlds
Simulations users at all levels make heavy use of compute resources to drive computational
simulations for greatly varying applications areas of research using different simulation
paradigms. Simulations are implemented in many software forms, ranging from highly standardised
and general models that run in proprietary software packages to ad hoc hand-crafted
simulations codes for very specific applications. Visualisation of the workings or results of a
simulation is another highly valuable capability for simulation developers and practitioners.
There are many different software libraries and methods available for creating a visualisation
layer for simulations, and it is often a difficult and time-consuming process to assemble a
toolkit of these libraries and other resources that best suits a particular simulation model. We
present here a break-down of the main simulation paradigms, and discuss differing toolkits and
approaches that different researchers have taken to tackle coupled simulation and visualisation
in each paradigm
Dust coagulation in protoplanetary disks: porosity matters
Context: Sticking of colliding dust particles through van der Waals forces is
the first stage in the grain growth process in protoplanetary disks, eventually
leading to the formation of comets, asteroids and planets. A key aspect of the
collisional evolution is the coupling between dust and gas motions, which
depends on the internal structure (porosity) of aggregates. Aims: To quantify
the importance of the internal structure on the collisional evolution of
particles, and to create a new coagulation model to investigate the difference
between porous and compact coagulation in the context of a turbulent
protoplanetary disk. Methods: We have developed simple prescriptions for the
collisional evolution of porosity of grain-aggregates in grain-grain
collisions. Three regimes can then be distinguished: `hit-and-stick' at low
velocities, with an increase in porosity; compaction at intermediate
velocities, with a decrease of porosity; and fragmentation at high velocities.
(..) Results: (..) We can discern three different stages in the particle growth
process (..) We find that when compared to standard, compact models of
coagulation, porous growth delays the onset of settling, because the surface
area-to-mass ratio is higher, a consequence of the build-up of porosity during
the initial stages. As a result, particles grow orders of magnitudes larger in
mass before they rain-out to the mid-plane. Depending on the turbulent
viscosity and on the position in the nebula, aggregates can grow to (porous)
sizes of ~ 10 cm in a few thousand years. We also find that collisional
energies are higher than in the limited PCA/CCA fractal models, thereby
allowing aggregates to restructure. It is concluded that the microphysics of
collisions plays a key role in the growth process.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A. Abstract
shortene
Evolving artificial terrains with automated genetic terrain programing
La industria del videojuego afronta en la actualidad un gran reto: mantener el coste del desarrollo de los proyectos bajo control a medida que estos crecen y se hacen más complejos. La creación de los contenidos de los juegos, que incluye el modelado de personajes, mapas y niveles, texturas, efectos sonoros, etc, representa una parte fundamental del costo final de producción. Por eso, la industria está cada vez más interesada en la utilización de métodos procedurales de generación automática de contenidos. Sin embargo, crear y afinar los métodos procedurales no es una tarea trivial.
En esta memoria, se describe un método procedural basado en Programación Genética, que permite la generación automática de terrenos para videojuegos. Los terrenos presentan características estéticas, y no requieren ningún tipo de parametrización para definir su aspecto. Así, el ahorro de tiempo y la reducción de costes en el proceso de producción es notable. Para conseguir los objetivos, se utiliza Programación Genética de Terrenos.
La primera implementación de GTP utilizó Evolución Interactiva, en que la presencia del usuario que guía el proceso evolutivo es imprescindible. A pesar de los buenos resultados, el método está limitado por la fatiga del usuario (común en los métodos interactivos). Para resolver esta cuestión se desarrolla un nuevo modelo de GTP en el que el proceso de búsqueda es completamente automático, y dirigido por una función de aptitudo. La función considera accesibilidad de los terrenos y perímetros de los obstáculos. Los resultados obtenidos se incluyeron como parte de un videojuego real.Nowadays video game industry is facing a big challenge: keep costs under control as games become bigger and more complex. Creation of game content, such as character models, maps, levels, textures, sound effects and so on, represent a big slice of total game production cost. Hence, video game industry is increasingly turning to procedural content generation to amplify the cost-effectiveness of video game designers' efforts. However, creating and fine tunning procedural methods for automated content generation is a time consuming task.
In this thesis we detail a Genetic Programming based procedural content technique to generate procedural terrains. Those terrains present aesthetic appeal and do not require any parametrization to control its look. Thus, allowing to save time and help reducing production costs. To accomplish these features we devised the Genetic Terrain Programming (GTP) technique.
The first implementation of GTP used an Interactive Evolutionary Computation (IEC) approach, were a user guides the evolutionary process. In spite of the good results achieved this way, this approach was limited by user fatigue (common in IEC systems). To address this issue a second version of GTP was developed where the search is automated, being guided by a direct fitness function. That function is composed by two morphological metrics: terrain accessibility and obstacle edge length. The combination of the two metrics allowed us remove the human factor form the evolutionary process and to find a wide range of aesthetic and fit terrains. Procedural terrains produced by GTP are already used in a real video game.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (TIN2007-68083-C02-01); (TIN2008-05941); (TIN2011-28627-C04)
Junta de Extremadura (GRU-09105); (GR10029)
Junta de Andalucía (TIC-6083
Adaptive Optics for Astronomy
Adaptive Optics is a prime example of how progress in observational astronomy
can be driven by technological developments. At many observatories it is now
considered to be part of a standard instrumentation suite, enabling
ground-based telescopes to reach the diffraction limit and thus providing
spatial resolution superior to that achievable from space with current or
planned satellites. In this review we consider adaptive optics from the
astrophysical perspective. We show that adaptive optics has led to important
advances in our understanding of a multitude of astrophysical processes, and
describe how the requirements from science applications are now driving the
development of the next generation of novel adaptive optics techniques.Comment: to appear in ARA&A vol 50, 201
Complexity Heliophysics: A lived and living history of systems and complexity science in Heliophysics
In this piece we study complexity science in the context of Heliophysics,
describing it not as a discipline, but as a paradigm. In the context of
Heliophysics, complexity science is the study of a star, interplanetary
environment, magnetosphere, upper and terrestrial atmospheres, and planetary
surface as interacting subsystems. Complexity science studies entities in a
system (e.g., electrons in an atom, planets in a solar system, individuals in a
society) and their interactions, and is the nature of what emerges from these
interactions. It is a paradigm that employs systems approaches and is
inherently multi- and cross-scale. Heliophysics processes span at least 15
orders of magnitude in space and another 15 in time, and its reaches go well
beyond our own solar system and Earth's space environment to touch planetary,
exoplanetary, and astrophysical domains. It is an uncommon domain within which
to explore complexity science.
After first outlining the dimensions of complexity science, the review
proceeds in three epochal parts: 1) A pivotal year in the Complexity
Heliophysics paradigm: 1996; 2) The transitional years that established
foundations of the paradigm (1996-2010); and 3) The emergent literature largely
beyond 2010.
This review article excavates the lived and living history of complexity
science in Heliophysics. The intention is to provide inspiration, help
researchers think more coherently about ideas of complexity science in
Heliophysics, and guide future research. It will be instructive to Heliophysics
researchers, but also to any reader interested in or hoping to advance the
frontier of systems and complexity science
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