360Roam: Real-Time Indoor Roaming Using Geometry-Aware 360∘^\circ Radiance Fields

Virtual tour among sparse 360$^\circ$ images is widely used while hindering smooth and immersive roaming experiences. The emergence of Neural Radiance Field (NeRF) has showcased significant progress in synthesizing novel views, unlocking the potential for immersive scene exploration. Nevertheless, previous NeRF works primarily focused on object-centric scenarios, resulting in noticeable performance degradation when applied to outward-facing and large-scale scenes due to limitations in scene parameterization. To achieve seamless and real-time indoor roaming, we propose a novel approach using geometry-aware radiance fields with adaptively assigned local radiance fields. Initially, we employ multiple 360$^\circ$ images of an indoor scene to progressively reconstruct explicit geometry in the form of a probabilistic occupancy map, derived from a global omnidirectional radiance field. Subsequently, we assign local radiance fields through an adaptive divide-and-conquer strategy based on the recovered geometry. By incorporating geometry-aware sampling and decomposition of the global radiance field, our system effectively utilizes positional encoding and compact neural networks to enhance rendering quality and speed. Additionally, the extracted floorplan of the scene aids in providing visual guidance, contributing to a realistic roaming experience. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our system, we curated a diverse dataset of 360$^\circ$ images encompassing various real-life scenes, on which we conducted extensive experiments. Quantitative and qualitative comparisons against baseline approaches illustrated the superior performance of our system in large-scale indoor scene roaming

Fruits of Gregory Bateson’s epistemological crisis: embodied mind-making and interactive experience in research and professional praxis

Background: The espoused rationale for this special issue, situated “at the margins of cybernetics,” was to revisit and extend the common genealogy of cybernetics and communication studies. Two possible topics garnered our attention: 1) the history of intellectual adventurers whose work has appropriated cybernetic concepts; and 2) the remediation of cybernetic metaphors. Analysis: A heuristic for engaging in first- and second-order R&D praxis, the design of which was informed by co-research with pastoralists (1989–1993) and the authors’ engagements with the scholarship of Bateson and Maturana, was employed and adapted as a reflexive in-quiry framework.Conclusion and implications: This inquiry challenges the mainstream desire for change and the belief in getting the communication right in order to achieve change. The authors argue this view is based on an epistemological error that continues to produce the very problems it intends to diminish, and thus we live a fundamental error in epistemology, false ontology, and misplaced practice. The authors offer instead conceptual and praxis possibilities for triggering new co-evolutionary trajectories

Automated generation of geometrically-precise and semantically-informed virtual geographic environnements populated with spatially-reasoning agents

La Géo-Simulation Multi-Agent (GSMA) est un paradigme de modélisation et de simulation de phénomènes dynamiques dans une variété de domaines d'applications tels que le domaine du transport, le domaine des télécommunications, le domaine environnemental, etc. La GSMA est utilisée pour étudier et analyser des phénomènes qui mettent en jeu un grand nombre d'acteurs simulés (implémentés par des agents) qui évoluent et interagissent avec une représentation explicite de l'espace qu'on appelle Environnement Géographique Virtuel (EGV). Afin de pouvoir interagir avec son environnement géographique qui peut être dynamique, complexe et étendu (à grande échelle), un agent doit d'abord disposer d'une représentation détaillée de ce dernier. Les EGV classiques se limitent généralement à une représentation géométrique du monde réel laissant de côté les informations topologiques et sémantiques qui le caractérisent. Ceci a pour conséquence d'une part de produire des simulations multi-agents non plausibles, et, d'autre part, de réduire les capacités de raisonnement spatial des agents situés. La planification de chemin est un exemple typique de raisonnement spatial dont un agent pourrait avoir besoin dans une GSMA. Les approches classiques de planification de chemin se limitent à calculer un chemin qui lie deux positions situées dans l'espace et qui soit sans obstacle. Ces approches ne prennent pas en compte les caractéristiques de l'environnement (topologiques et sémantiques), ni celles des agents (types et capacités). Les agents situés ne possèdent donc pas de moyens leur permettant d'acquérir les connaissances nécessaires sur l'environnement virtuel pour pouvoir prendre une décision spatiale informée. Pour répondre à ces limites, nous proposons une nouvelle approche pour générer automatiquement des Environnements Géographiques Virtuels Informés (EGVI) en utilisant les données fournies par les Systèmes d'Information Géographique (SIG) enrichies par des informations sémantiques pour produire des GSMA précises et plus réalistes. De plus, nous présentons un algorithme de planification hiérarchique de chemin qui tire avantage de la description enrichie et optimisée de l'EGVI pour fournir aux agents un chemin qui tient compte à la fois des caractéristiques de leur environnement virtuel et de leurs types et capacités. Finalement, nous proposons une approche pour la gestion des connaissances sur l'environnement virtuel qui vise à supporter la prise de décision informée et le raisonnement spatial des agents situés

VR-based Soundscape Evaluation: Auralising the Sound from Audio Rendering, Reflection Modelling to Source Synthesis in the Acoustic Environment

Soundscape has been growing as a research field associated with acoustics, urban planning, environmental psychology and other disciplines since it was first introduced in the 1960s. To assess soundscapes, subjective validation is frequently integrated with soundscape reproduction. However, the existing soundscape standards do not give clear reproduction specifications to recreate a virtual sound environment. Selecting appropriate audio rendering methods, simulating sound propagation, and synthesising non-point sound sources remain major challenges for researchers. This thesis therefore attempts to give alternative or simplified strategies to reproduce a virtual sound environment by suggesting binaural or monaural audio renderings, reflection modelling during sound propagation, and less synthesis points of non-point sources. To solve these unclear issues, a systematic review of original studies first examines the ecological validity of immersive virtual reality in soundscape evaluation. Through recording and reproducing audio-visual stimuli of sound environments, participants give their subjective responses according to the structured questionnaires. Thus, different audio rendering, reflection modelling, and source synthesis methods are validated by subjective evaluation. The results of this thesis reveal that a rational setup of VR techniques and evaluation methods will be a solid foundation for soundscape evaluation with reliable ecological validity. For soundscape audio rendering, the binaural rendering still dominates the soundscape evaluation compared with the monaural. For sound propagation with consideration of different reflection conditions, fewer orders can be employed during sound reflection to assess different kinds of sounds in outdoor sound environments through VR experiences. The VR experience combining both HMDs and Ambisonics will significantly strengthen our immersion at low orders. For non-point source synthesis, especially line sources, when adequate synthesis points reach the threshold of the minimum audible angle, human ears cannot distinguish the location of the synthesised sound sources in the horizontal plane, thus increasing immersion significantly. These minimum specifications and simplifications refine the understanding of soundscape reproduction, and the findings will be beneficial for researchers and engineers in determining appropriate audio rendering, sound propagation modelling, and non-point source synthesis strategies

Nurturing sociality with birdlife in the context of life with sight impairment: a role for nonhuman charisma

This is the final version. Available on open access from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordData Accessibility: Due to ethical concerns of maintaining participant confidentiality, the research data supporting this publication are not publicly availableAs increasing numbers of people develop sight impairments worldwide, an important body of research has examined emotional transitions experienced with the onset and progression of sight impairment. Many studies convey feelings of loss and social isolation, but there are growing concerns that the scripts of disability in this regard have become somewhat limited. This paper draws on the nature experiences of 31 people with sight impairment in England to explore the value of nonhuman socialities, moving the ‘social’ beyond the typical realms of human-to-human interaction to foreground the importance of everyday birdlife encounters. For participants in this in-depth qualitative study – including people with congenital and acquired sight impairments – socialities nurtured through charismatic qualities of sound (termed ‘sonic charisma’), scent and touch contributed to experiences of situated connectivity, characterised by playful moments of curiosity, companionship and awe. Reflecting on implications for nature engagement and conservation practices, the paper explores how such relationships could usefully be fostered within efforts to mainstream more inclusive nature experiences in the context of people’s day-to-day lives and routines.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Indoor Full-Body Security Screening: Radiometric Microwave Imaging Phenomenology and Polarimetric Scene Simulation

The paper discusses the scene simulation of radiometric imagers and its use to illustrate the phenomenology of full-body screening of people for weapons and threats concealed under clothing. The aperture synthesis technique is introduced as this offers benefits of wide field-of-views and large depths-of-fields in a system that is potentially conformally deployable in the confined spaces of building entrances and at airport departure lounges. The technique offers a non-invasive, non-cooperative screening capability to scrutinize all human body surfaces for illegal items. However, for indoor operation, the realization of this capability is challenging due to the low radiation temperature contrasts in imagery. The contrast is quantified using a polarimetric radiometric layer model of the clothed human subject concealing threats. A radiation frequency of 20 GHz was chosen for the simulation as system component costs here are relatively low and the attainable half-wavelength spatial resolution of 7.5 mm is sufficient for screening. The contrasts against the human body of the threat materials of metal, zirconia ceramic, carbon fiber, nitrogen-based energetic materials, yellow beeswax, and water were calculated to be ≤7 K. Furthermore, the model indicates how some threats frequency modulate the radiation temperatures by ~ ±1 K. These results are confirmed by experiments using a radiometer measuring left-hand circularly polarized radiation. It is also shown using scene simulation how circularly polarized radiation has benefits for reducing false alarms and how threat objects appear in canyon regions of the body, such as between the legs and in the armpits