Three-dimensional metamorphosis: a survey

International audienceA metamorphosis or a (3D) morphing is the process of continuously transforming one object into another. 2D and 3D morphing are popular in computer animation, industrial design, and growth simulation. Since there is no intrinsic solution to the morphing problem, user interaction can be a key component of a morphing software. Many morphing techniques have been proposed in recent years for 2D and 3D objects. We present a survey of the various 3D approaches, giving special attention to the user interface. We show how the approaches are intimately related to the object representations. We conclude by sketching some morphing strategies for the future

Fluid typography: transforming letterforms in television idents

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Barbara Brownie, (2015) "Fluid typography: transforming letterforms in television idents", Arts and the Market, Vol. 5 Issue: 2, pp.154-167, October 2015. Under embargo. Embargo end date: 5 October 2017. The Version of Record is available online at doi: https://doi.org/10.1108/AAM-07-2014-0024. Published by Emerald Insight.Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose that, within the practice of motion branding, transforming type has been largely neglected by existing theorists and its importance to wider marketing trends overlooked. It will be observed that previous texts on transitional letterforms have tended to focus on changes in global arrangement and in doing so have neglected to recognise the significance of changes that occur at a local level, within individual letterforms. Design/methodology/approach – Taking an interdisciplinary approach, with examples including idents and bumpers from Channel 4, Sky, FOX, Five and MTV. New methods of understanding these artefacts will be introduced, with emphasis on how they affect the relationship between broadcaster’s identities and the medium of television. Modes of definition and understanding that have previously been applied to holographic poetry will be applied to the field of on-screen artefacts. Findings – The paper will discuss how branding has adapted to incorporate the features of the medium of television, and propose new methods of classification for the associated processes of metamorphosis, construction, parallax and revelation. Originality/value – Motion branding, in the form of television idents, is frequently described as containing “motion typography”, but this and related terminology is vague or misleading – and reduces all forms of kineticism to simple motion. On-screen branding often operates more complex temporal behaviours. Lack of sufficient vocabulary to describe such transformations has forced practitioners to describe their work in terms of previously existing work, thereby limiting the perceived scope of their ideas and the possibility of innovation. This paper resolves the lack of existing vocabulary by providing new definitions of four categories of fluid transformation that appear in contemporary television idents.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

An interactive framework for component-based morphing

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Morphing arquitectónico: transformaciones entre las casas usonianas de Frank Lloyd Wright

Esta tesis investiga sobre el proceso de transformación de la forma arquitectónica, analizando una técnica específica denominada morphing. La técnica del morphing se utiliza en los gráficos por ordenador para la transformación de la forma entre dos o más objetos dados. Desde un punto de vista técnico, se revisan y actualizan las metodologías y aplicaciones existentes, sus características específicas y sus incidencias sobre la arquitectura. Desde un punto de vista práctico, se utilizan una serie de modelos de las casas Usonianas de Frank Lloyd Wright, con el fin de experimentar la técnica y ver qué utilidades se pueden obtener a partir de su lógica de diseño. Como resultado de este análisis se obtiene una metodología genérica para el procedimiento de un morphing arquitectónico.This thesis investigates the transformation of architectural form, analyzing a specific technique called morphing. Morphing is a technique used in computer graphics to transform a form between two or more given objects. From a technical point of view, the existing techniques are reviewed and updated, as well as their specific characteristics and impact on architecture. From a practical point of view, some models of Usonian houses of Frank Lloyd Wright are used to experience the technique and see which utilities are available from his design logic. As a result of this analysis a generic methodology for the process of architectural morphing is obtained.Postprint (published version

PDE boundary conditions that eliminate quantum weirdness: a mathematical game inspired by Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing

Although boundary condition problems in quantum mathematics (QM) are well known, no one ever used boundary conditions technology to abolish quantum weirdness. We employ boundary conditions to build a mathematical game that is fun to learn, and by using it you will discover that quantum weirdness evaporates and vanishes. Our clever game is so designed that you can solve the boundary condition problems for a single point if-and-only-if you also solve the “weirdness” problem for all of quantum mathematics. Our approach differs radically from Dirichlet, Neumann, Robin, or Wolfram Alpha. We define domain Ω in one-dimension, on which a partial differential equation (PDE) is defined. Point α on ∂Ω is the location of a boundary condition game that involves an off-center bi-directional wave solution called Æ, an “elementary wave.” Study of this unusual, complex wave is called the Theory of Elementary Waves (TEW). We are inspired by Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing who built mathematical games that demonstrated that axiomatization of all mathematics was impossible. In our machine quantum weirdness vanishes if understood from the perspective of a single point α, because that pinpoint teaches us that nature is organized differently than we expect

Eniatype: Transdisciplinary Practice for Methodologies of Communication

Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictions.The thesis demonstrates a rethinking of methodologies of communication through ecological design. Human communication and ecological accountability are inextricably linked in architectural design: the current global ecological crisis underscores this fundamental connection. Within architectural practice the communication from architect to participant or environment is not at all straightforward. This is also true of the dyadic relation between context, design and communication in architectural education. Notational systems within architectural education used as a communication tool have made the composition of architecture an activity like the composition of fiction: the activity of communication. So deep is the connection between architecture and communication in our culture that for much of the time we ignore it and behave as if notation were really a transparent window – just as in reading a working drawing in architectural practice we may ignore the intermediacy of notation and imagine that thoughts are reaching us directly from the architect’s mind. The most important criterion of notational systems, whether literally or architectural, is precisely that it should not draw attention to itself, nor disturb the illusion of neutrality and faithfulness. Through original design exploration, this work proffers a critical vision towards the built environment. These conceptions challenge the everyday education of architectural design by offering a transdisciplinary framework for design production. The work concludes with the necessity for a new design field entitled ‘Eniatype’. Eniatype is still in its nascent stages. It has the potential to become a far-reaching awareness that bonds the disciplines of design ecologies, theory of notation, instructional design and aesthetics; together they form the acronym ENIA. The work establishes the theoretical foundation for Eniatype in four parts. Part one, ideation, is a survey of visions on architectural practice illustrating original concepts such as ‘Correalism‘, ’Reflexive Architecture‘ and ’Recursive Vision‘. Part two, Enia, illustrates the principles of design ecologies, theory of notation, instructional design and aesthetical strands in projects such as ’Basque Enia‘ and ’Beijing Enia‘. Part three, Type, conveys the principles of the logical theory of types in ’Working Drawing, Participant and Environment‘. Part four, Eniatype, synthesise these approaches through a series of research sessions towards a transdisciplinary idea of architectural education and practice. The work describes a burgeoning field, Eniatype, which promotes ecological transitions within local and global contexts through architectural education. By linking working drawing and environment within architectural education, unique ecological design proposals were produced, which promote a new role in defining the ciphers of future design thought

New Directions for Contact Integrators

Contact integrators are a family of geometric numerical schemes which guarantee the conservation of the contact structure. In this work we review the construction of both the variational and Hamiltonian versions of these methods. We illustrate some of the advantages of geometric integration in the dissipative setting by focusing on models inspired by recent studies in celestial mechanics and cosmology.Comment: To appear as Chapter 24 in GSI 2021, Springer LNCS 1282

Shocks, Jets, and Emerging Nebulae: Direct Detection and Characterization of Extragalactic Radio Transients in the VLA Sky Survey

For most of their lives, massive stars and supermassive black holes evolve steadily, changing only gradually on human timescales. But on occasion, these cosmic engines erupt, lighting up their surroundings like flashes in the dark. Under the right conditions, the eruptions can manifest as slow radio transients, rising and fading on timescales of weeks to decades. By finding these transients and observing their evolution, we can study otherwise inaccessible aspects of the engines' lives, and piece together their influence on their surroundings. Until recently, most of our knowledge of slow radio transients came from follow-up observations of explosions first discovered as optical and high-energy transients. This avenue of discovery, while illuminating, provides an indelibly incomplete picture of the radio transient landscape. Moreover, each successful follow-up detection typically comes at the cost of many unsuccessful attempts (measured in both telescope and human time). My thesis helps address these issues by finding and characterizing transients directly in radio surveys. By applying novel transient detection techniques to data from the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS), I produced the first uniformly selected sample of radio transients associated with local universe galaxies. The 64 transients in my sample have roughly doubled the total number of directly detected slow radio transients in the literature. This sample has enabled the first volume-limited characterization of the demographics of extragalactic slow radio transients. It has also facilitated the discovery of two previously unseen transient types: the merger of a compact object with a massive star and a decades-old emerging pulsar wind nebula. These early results used only ~15% of the currently available data from VLASS and focused only on extragalactic transients at low redshift. By applying the same techniques to the full survey, I have found ~2000 new transients, increasing the number of known slow radio transients (detected by any means) by a further order of magnitude. With this new sample, my collaborators and I are beginning to shift the study of slow radio transients from the domain of single-object deep-dives to the domain of statistical samples.</p

Probabilistic Arguments in Mathematics

This thesis addresses a question that emerges naturally from some observations about contemporary mathematical practice. Firstly, mathematicians always demand proof for the acceptance of new results. Secondly, the ability of mathematicians to tell if a discourse gives expression to a proof is less than perfect, and the computers they use are subject to a variety of hardware and software failures. So false results are sometimes accepted, despite insistence on proof. Thirdly, over the past few decades, researchers have also developed a variety of methods that are probabilistic in nature. Even if carried out perfectly, these procedures only yield a conclusion that is very likely to be true. In some cases, these chances of error are precisely specifiable and can be made as small as desired. The likelihood of an error arising from the inherently uncertain nature of these probabilistic algorithms can therefore be made vanishingly small in comparison to the chances of an error arising when implementing an equivalent deductive algorithm. Moreover, the structure of probabilistic algorithms tends to minimise these Implementation Errors too. So overall, probabilistic methods are sometimes more reliable than deductive ones. This invites the question: ‘Are mathematicians rational in continuing to reject these probabilistic methods as a means of establishing mathematical claims?

PSA 2020

These preprints were automatically compiled into a PDF from the collection of papers deposited in PhilSci-Archive in conjunction with the PSA 2020