Volumetric kombat:a case study on developing a VR game with Volumetric Video

This paper presents a case study on the development of a Virtual Reality (VR) game using Volumetric Video (VV) for character animation. We delve into the potential of VV, a technology that fuses video and depth sensor data, which has progressively matured since its initial introduction in 1995. Despite its potential to deliver unmatched realism and dynamic 4D sequences, VV applications are predominantly used in non-interactive scenarios. We explore the barriers to entry such as high costs associated with large-scale VV capture systems and the lack of tools optimized for VV in modern game engines. By actively using VV to develop a VR game, we examine and overcome these constraints developing a set of tools that address these challenges. Drawing lessons from past games, we propose an open-source data processing workflow for future VV games. This case study provides insights into the opportunities and challenges of VV in game development and contributes towards making VV more accessible for creators and researchers

Comparison of Driving Transect Methods for Acoustic Monitoring of Bats

Acoustic monitoring for bats along driving transects typically involves recording call sequences (bat passes) continuously while driving. While this offers benefits over other survey techniques, it also poses challenges, including background noise on recordings. An alternative approach that may rectify this involves conducting sampling at discrete points along each transect instead. We compared these methods using the same bat detector, along with an additional higher sensitivity detector to determine which method yields the highest amount and quality of data per unit of time. Results from 26 18 km transects, each sampled continuously and at 10 point count sites indicate that, with a lower sensitivity detector, the two methods yield a similar number of passes per minute, percent of passes identified to species, and species documented. The higher sensitivity bat detector could not be used for continuous sampling due to background noise. However, at point count sites, the higher sensitivity detector recorded 17 times more passes per minute, 44 times more passes identified to species, and documented nearly twice as many species. Thus, while both sampling designs appear comparable, for most applications, a higher sensitivity detector trumps sampling design

Reflection on Integrative Project-Based Learning in Business and Information Technology Programs

Recently there has been an increase in demand for interdisciplinary programs that enable graduates to demonstrate a blend of technical and ‘soft skills’. As a result, many higher education organizations are developing programs that integrate areas such as management and information technology or entrepreneurship and engineering. The wide range of topics covered in these programs and the need for graduate to be able to integrate and apply of core concepts. Since 2010 we have used integrative project-based learning as a core element of our game development and entrepreneurship program. In this model, students work in project teams to create a “complete” video game following a set of specific feature requirements drawn from the students’ courses. This project requires students to integrate concepts across all courses taken (including those from business, game design, programming, and game art) and develop a commercially viable game. More recently, we have developed project-based learning elements for our networking and information technology security program. In this paper, we reflect on the success and challenges of implementing integrative project-based learning throughout a university program. Elements considered include scalability, management of student groups, faculty engagement, program scheduling, and effectiveness of content integration. Results have demonstrated that students are better able to understand how fundamental concepts from the various curriculum areas interact while gaining additional opportunities to practice ‘soft skills’ such as project management, communications, problem solving, and leadership. The paper will provide recommendations on the necessary learning environment and supports for successful implementation of integrative project-based learning

Tree pattern inference and matching for wrapper induction on the World Wide Web

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (p. 103-106).We develop a method for learning patterns from a set of positive examples to retrieve semantic content from tree-structured data. Specifically, we focus on HTML documents on the World Wide Web, which contain a wealth of semantic information and have a useful underlying tree structure. A user provides examples of relevant data they wish to extract from a web site through a simple user interface in a web browser. To construct patterns, we use the notion of the edit distance between the subtrees represented by these examples to distill them into a more general pattern. This pattern may then be used to retrieve other instances of the selected data from the same page or other similar pages. By linking patterns and their components with semantic labels using RDF, we can create semantic "overlays" for Web information which are useful in such projects as the Semantic Web and the Haystack information management environment.by Andrew William Hogue.M.Eng

The characteristics and treatment needs of fire setters with intellectual disability: descriptive data and comparisons between offence type

Purpose: Fire setters who have an intellectual disability (ID) are often identified as posing a particular danger to the community although relatively little is known about their characteristics, treatment, and support needs. Methodology: This study describes the characteristics of 134 residents of low, medium, and high security ID facilities in the United Kingdom who have either an index offence of arson, comparing them with those who have a violentn index offence, involving either violent or a sexual indexal offenceding. Findings: Index arson offenders who had an ID had multiple prior convictions, a history of violent offending, and a high likelihood of having a comorbid mental disorder. There were many shared characteristics across the three groups. Practical implications: The current study suggests that offenders who have ID who set fires have treatment needs that are similar to those of violent and sex offenders. It follows that fire setters who have an ID may also benefit from participating in more established offending behaviour treatment programs, such as cognitive behaviour therapy programs, developed for other types of offender. Originality: This study is one of the few which has investigated the characteristics and treatment needs of persons who have an ID who set fires. In particular, it is one of the first to compare the characteristics and treatment needs for persons with ID who set fires, to those who have committed violent and sexual offences

Concert recording 2016-04-23a

[Track 01]. Interludes for percussion and trumpet. March ; [Track 02]. Elegy ; [Track 03]. Prayer ; [Track 04]. Finale / Marilyn J. Harris ; Mark E. Wolfram -- [Track 05]. Pastorale / Eric Ewazen -- [Track 06]. Animal ditties. The turtle ; [Track 07]. The python ; [Track 08]. The hog ; [Track 09]. The chipmunk ; [Track 10]. The canary ; [Track 11]. The elk / Anthony Plog -- [Track 12]. La revue de cuisine. Prologue ; [Track 13]. Tango ; [Track 14]. Charleston ; [Track 15]. Finale / Bohuslav Martinů

Coherent diffraction of single Rice Dwarf virus particles using hard X-rays at the Linac Coherent Light Source

Single particle diffractive imaging data from Rice Dwarf Virus (RDV) were recorded using the Coherent X-ray Imaging (CXI) instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). RDV was chosen as it is a wellcharacterized model system, useful for proof-of-principle experiments, system optimization and algorithm development. RDV, an icosahedral virus of about 70 nm in diameter, was aerosolized and injected into the approximately 0.1 mu m diameter focused hard X-ray beam at the CXI instrument of LCLS. Diffraction patterns from RDV with signal to 5.9 angstrom ngstrom were recorded. The diffraction data are available through the Coherent X-ray Imaging Data Bank (CXIDB) as a resource for algorithm development, the contents of which are described here.11Ysciescopu

Concert recording 2016-04-03

[Track 01]. Fanfare pour précéder \u27La Péri\u27 / Paul Dukas -- [Track 02]. French dances revisted. I ; [Track 03]. II ; [Track 04]. III ; [Track 05]. IV ; [Track 06]. V ; [Track 07]. VI / Adam Gorb -- [Track 08]. Danses sacrée et profane / Claude Debussy -- [Track 09]. Dance mix / Rob Smith

Early social distancing policies in Europe, changes in mobility & COVID-19 case trajectories: insights from Spring 2020

Background Social distancing have been widely used to mitigate community spread of SARS-CoV-2. We sought to quantify the impact of COVID-19 social distancing policies across 27 European counties in spring 2020 on population mobility and the subsequent trajectory of disease. Methods We obtained data on national social distancing policies from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker and aggregated and anonymized mobility data from Google. We used a pre-post comparison and two linear mixed-effects models to first assess the relationship between implementation of national policies and observed changes in mobility, and then to assess the relationship between changes in mobility and rates of COVID-19 infections in subsequent weeks. Results Compared to a pre-COVID baseline, Spain saw the largest decrease in aggregate population mobility (~70%), as measured by the time spent away from residence, while Sweden saw the smallest decrease (~20%). The largest declines in mobility were associated with mandatory stay-at-home orders, followed by mandatory workplace closures, school closures, and non-mandatory workplace closures. While mandatory shelter-in-place orders were associated with 16.7% less mobility (95% CI: -23.7% to -9.7%), non-mandatory orders were only associated with an 8.4% decrease (95% CI: -14.9% to -1.8%). Large-gathering bans were associated with the smallest change in mobility compared with other policy types. Changes in mobility were in turn associated with changes in COVID-19 case growth. For example, a 10% decrease in time spent away from places of residence was associated with 11.8% (95% CI: 3.8%, 19.1%) fewer new COVID-19 cases. Discussion This comprehensive evaluation across Europe suggests that mandatory stay-at-home orders and workplace closures had the largest impacts on population mobility and subsequent COVID-19 cases at the onset of the pandemic. With a better understanding of policies’ relative performance, countries can more effectively invest in, and target, early nonpharmacological interventions