6-MIG Project: Multi-User InteractionSystem for CAVE-type VR Environments

Since the destruction of the Giant Buddhas in Bamiyan in the year 2001 consolidation and emergency stabilization works under the auspices of UNESCO and ICOMOS have progressed. The more than 1000m spanning cliff wall was scanned with a terrestrial laser scan system and a 3D model of the cliff was derived from the measurements. After removing the large fragments from the niche of the Eastern 38m Buddha a detailed laser scan was conducted and a textured 3D model of the empty niche generated in order to study the damages of the back wall in detail. From historic images and contour line drawings a 3D surface model of the destroyed 38m Buddha figure was created and successfully integrated into the 3D textured model of the scanned niche. The result has been processed for presentation in an immersive 3D Cave Automated Virtual environment CAVE at the Virtual Reality Center at RWTH Aachen University. The complex real-time stereo projection is computed by a high-end computer cluster and adapts the projected image to the spectator eyes and movement by head tracking with infrared devices. The previous state can be compared to the actual condition and serves as a communication and planning tool among the different expert groups working on the site for discussion on ongoing stabilization and restoration measures and future consolidation works. It is now possible to generate conventional 2D documentation material (sections, plans) precisely from any part of the virtual model in order to plan and conduct further detailed damage assessments and analysis on site. The virtual model incorporates the results of scientific explorations and detailed damage assessments. It will serve as demonstration and experimentation model when exploring the possibilities of a future anastylosis of portions of the figure. The system was adapted to the needs of an exhibition on Gandhara Art in Germany in a special installation set-up reducing the amount of data to a minimum in order to achieve a real time rendering of the 3D model of the entire cliff and the reconstructed 38m Buddha figure with limited computer resources. The documentation work and the virtual reconstruction is embedded in the long term management plan for the entire World Heritage Site.

The optimal design of information technology systems is a multi-objective problem requiring accurate prediction of both normal and peak loading conditions. The calculation of future peak loading requires the projection of average loading as well as a detailed understanding of parameter interactions. The failure to properly account for cross-source correlations for many component systems can lead to a significant underestimation of the total system variability. We present an IT network model that projects both average and peak loading for a system that is expanding traffic at multiple data sources. The average loading is modeled by independently calculating the traffic growth for all data sources. The future cumulative load distribution is calculated by taking into account historical sources of parameter correlations and scaling to account for future average growth. Finally, the duration of the peak states is calculated by simulating a vector Fractional ARIMA time series model.

This paper briefly discusses the ALICE machine background concerns and the background monitoring system. ALICE RUNNING STRATEGY ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) [1] is a general purpose detector designed to address the physics of strongly interacting matter and the quark-gluon plasma in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the LHC. It will allow a comprehensive study of particles produced in Pb–Pb collisions, up to the highest multiplicities anticipated at the LHC. The physics program also includes collisions with lighter ions as well as dedicated proton-nucleus runs. Regular data taking during pp runs will provide reference data for the heavy ion program and address a number of specific pp topics. The pp runs will be in parallel with the other experiments but at a reduced luminosity in IP2. In order to keep the pile-up in the Time Projection Chamber (TPC) and Silicon Drift Detectors (SDD) at an acceptable level, the luminosity during pp runs has to be limited to 3 × 10 cm−2s−1, corresponding to an interaction rate of 200 kHz. At this rate we record on average 20 overlapping events. The optimal detector operation and physics performance with the TPC, i.e. no pile-up, is at 10 cm−2s−1. IMPACT OF MACHINE BACKGROUND General considerations Due to the running at reduced luminosity ALICE has the most unfavorable interaction rate over background rate ratio (at least a factor of 10 less than the high luminosity experiments). Machine background effects are alleviated by the fact that ALICE has been designed to perform tracking for up to 1000 times the pp multiplicity and the trigger reduction factors are relatively small (typically 10). So far the expected effects of the background are mainly of cumulative nature, such as radiation damage (integral dose and neutron fluences). Also the increase of the data volume has obvious negative consequences in terms of data storage and offline computing requirements. To simulate these effects ALICE has so far considered beam gas events in the experimental region IP ±20 m and beam-halo from beam-gas scattering outside the experimental regions. Input for the quartiary background caused by tertiary collimators (TCT) close to the experimental region is not yet available for IP2. In case the collimators are at the nominal settings this contribution could well be the dominant source of machine background. However, since at full beam intensity ALICE will run at high β∗ (10 m), the inner triplet will not limit the aperture of the machine. ALICE requires that for stable beams the TCTs will be put at a position at which they protect the inner triplets against accidental losses but do not produce extra losses for stable beams. Dose in central detectors The radiation environment in the experimental cavern has been simulated for the planned running scenario of the ALICE experiment (Table 1) [2]. Running with p-p, low and high mass ion–ion collisions over a ten year period has been assumed. Beam-beam and beam-gas interactions have been considered as potential radiation sources. The highest doses, up to 2.8 kGy, are expected at the location of the inner tracking system (ITS) (Table 2). The contribution from beam halo [3] amounts to ≈ 20% of the total dose. The contribution from beam-gas collisions within the experimental region has been calculated assuming a very conservative residual gas pressure of 2× 10 molecules/m. Only under these conditions a sizeable contribution of about 10% of the total dose is expected. Charged particle rates on RPCs Among the ALICE detectors, the muon trigger system is one of the most sensitive to the machine induced background. As a matter of fact, the Resistive Plate Chambers (RPC) rate capability (50 − 100 Hz/cm) might be saturated by a too high background level, which might also have an impact on the detector lifetime. The fluxes of secondary charged particles through muon trigger system originating from machine induced background has been simulated [4]. The trigger background consists mainly of electrons from hadronic showers resulting in a hot spot of ≈ 60 Hz/cm located at x = 1.5 m and |y| < 1.5 m. BACKGROUND MONITORING For machine background monitoring during injection ALICE will use the beam condition monitor (BCM) and the V0 forward scintillator detectors at safe photomultiplier settings. Due to the different acceptance of the two detectors an OR of the two signals will be used. With circulating stable beams a combination of signals from BCM, V0, SPD, TPC and forward muon spectrometer will be used to obtain a normalized machine background signal. Beam condition monitors The purpose of the Beam Condition Monitor (BCM) is to detect adverse beam conditions within the ALICE experLHC Workshop on Experimental Conditions and Beam-Induced Detector Backgrounds

IRASSI is an interferometry-based mission concept, composed of five free-flying telescopes orbiting the Sun-Earth/Moon second Lagrange point, L2. IRASSI aims to observe particular regions of the sky, where Earth-like planets are likely to form, such as stellar disks and cold dust clouds. In these regions, important chemical and physical phenomena observable in the far-infrared frequencies (1 to 6 THz) can be recorded, enabling scientists to study star formation and evolution processes, as well as early planetary origins. Such phenomena must be resolved finely by the telescopes, with the angular resolution goal set to 0.1 arcsec or lower. To achieve such granular resolution magnitudes, the interferometer relies on dynamically changing baselines (i.e., physical separation) during the scientific observations. This is coupled with heterodyne detection, which collects and correlates detected signals of a celestial object from all telescopes simultaneously. With such a setup, the telescopes can combine their detected signals at different locations, improving the obtained angular resolution of the observations. In order to precisely correlate the detected far-infrared signals, the baseline vectors between the telescope reference points must be determined with an accuracy of 5 μm. This requirement poses a challenge to existing navigation technology. To overcome this challenge, a ranging system is employed to provide the distance measurements at micrometer-level accuracy between ranging sensors located at each satellite. A further important task is the determination of the lever arms (between the ranging sensor and the telescope reference point) and its orientation in space. Since the position estimation at L2 cannot be provided in absolute coordinates with such high accuracy, the navigation concept consists of two interacting components: (I) the absolute position estimation, with respect to Earth; and (II) the relative position estimation, determining satellite's positions, with respect to each other. For relative positioning, a geometric approach is currently under development, because it is capable of real-time processing. In future work, a semi-kinematic approach is aimed for, i.e., process dynamics is included, in order to increase robustness in case of measurement outliers or missing measurements. For absolute positioning, the Earth-based navigation method has been selected due to its potential to satisfy high accuracy expectations for the initialization of the relative position algorithms. The paper begins with a brief description of the IRASSI mission, where the issue of baseline accuracy determination is introduced. The Nominal Operations phase of the mission is presented in detail, with a focus on formation dynamics. A description of the navigation concepts, including the absolute and relative position estimation, is thereafter provided. The absolute and relative position estimation is analyzed in terms of their dynamic models, observation models and estimation methods. Furthermore, their performance relative to the requirements and overcoming challenges are discussed and compared in terms of their response time and accuracy. The key challenges in the frame of baseline measurement accuracy is then highlighted. Finally, the content of the paper is summarized and the scope of future work concludes the manuscript.

This paper describes the conceptual design and operating principles of an oscillating-foil propulsion system for an unmanned underwater vehicle called TURTLE (‘Tele-operated Unmanned Robot for Telemetry and Legged Exploration’), currently under development. This UUV (‘Unmanned Underwater Vehicle) will be designed to be a 6-legged swimming and walking amphibious robot, fitted with foils (or flat fins) which can be manipulated with several degrees of freedom to produce highly efficient underwater propulsion forces. The legs will each have four degrees of freedom, of which the fourth is rotation of a foil that is fitted to the ’shin’ to provide propulsion for swimming. By manipulating the movements and rotations of this foil, propulsion forces can be generated to implement a variety of swimming modes, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The foils attached to the fins allow the main body to be controlled in all six degrees of freedom. It will also be an amphibious robot that will be able to transition between swimming mode and walking mode, for walking on an underwater surface or over dry land if power considerations permit. It must be powerful and strong enough to support itself and light payloads while walking over rough or undulating surfaces commonly found on a beach. The mechanical design will allow the absolute position and orientation of the body to be accurately controlled relative to the ground surface, whether above or below water, for the purpose of precision control of onboard tools and sensors. The space frame construction method keeps water drag low and allows large scale, strong, rigid structures and manipulator limbs (or links) to be built. Space frames also keep material cost, weight and actuator energy usage to very low levels. Such lightweight and energy efficient robots will be useful in many practical applications, such as oil and gas exploration, drilling, mining, construction, automated agriculture, military transport and space exploration.

This report is an attempt to develop a modelling framework integrating different sectoral stand-alone models used at the JRC for policy impact assessment in the fields of agriculture, forestry, land use change and energy. The proposed quantitative framework should improve the capability of assessing greenhouse gas emissions and removals resulting from complex interactions between the agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) sectors, and facilitate the analysis of policy scenarios relevant for a sustainable and carbon-neutral European economy. Four models are considered, for which a revised model specification and harmonization of relevant databases and model parameters is needed. The Common Agricultural Policy Regionalized Impact (CAPRI) Modelling System is a widely used large-scale multi-commodity agricultural economic model. The Land Use-based Integrated Sustainability Assessment modelling platform for BioEconomy and Ecosystem Services (LUISA-BEES) is primarily used for the ex-ante evaluation of European policies that have a direct or indirect territorial impact on the agricultural and forestry sectors. The Carbon Budget Model (CBM) is a stand-alone forestry model that simulates forest carbon dynamics. The Policy Oriented Tool for Energy and Climate Change Impact Assessment (POTEnCIA) model depicts a detailed EU energy system combining both techno-economic modules. As a ‘proof of integration’, this report describes the improvement of the CAPRI land use function and harmonization of related database such as to be linked to the output from the LUISA-BEES model. Moreover, forestry area projections and related carbon removals in CAPRI are improved by using direct information from the CBM model. Last but not least, the POTEnCIA model is improved by parameterizing a first generation biofuel supply curve based on CAPRI simulations. \nIn order to test the proposed modelling framework, the report proposes a set of exploratory policy scenarios based on each model’s capabilities: reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, expansion of biofuel mandates and carbon pricing (CAPRI); implementation of spatially explicit sustainability criteria for the plantation of energy crops and afforestation (LUISA-BEES), different levels of forest harvesting (CBM) and strong decarbonisation policies (POTEnCIA).

This paper presents a suggested methodology based on virtual reality (VR) technology that enables people with cognitive disabilities to communicate their knowledge and experiences of public transport systems. The users interacted with the VR system by verbally describing their actions to the person controlling the VR system and/or pointing with a laser pointer while seated in front of three screens on which the virtual environment (VE) was projected. A surround sound system was used to add realism. The users were video filmed as they took a virtual bus trip and were then asked to think aloud about their experience while watching the video material. The VR methodology was evaluated on seven people with stroke. Overall, the results suggested that the VR methodology is feasible for people with cognitive disabilities. Despite some initial difficulties, the subjects managed to communicate their intentions, some by combining verbalisations and pointing with the laser pointer in a very efficient manner. They were engaged in the virtual bus trip and made comments on the experience, including comments on emotional aspects. Interestingly, the subjects' verbal descriptions of what they wanted to do revealed in parts aspects of how they reasoned when taking the bus trip.

We have developed a laser pointing system, the GestureLaser, which allows a remote operator to control a videocamera and a laser beam via a networked personal computer. The laser spot can be moved by the mouse cursor controlled by the remote instructor. The system was tested by giving remote instruction in thoracentesis to inexperienced operators using a training mannekin. Seven medical students received instructions using the laser pointer and another seven received instruction without the laser pointer. All operators completed the task correctly. The laser pointer group correctly identified the centesis space and performed the task on the first trial. When the laser pointer was not used, four operators (57%) made a mistake in selecting the centesis space at the first trial. The mean times for both stage 1--verbal versus GestureLaser 59 s (SD 13) versus 44 s (SD 5), p = 0.015 - and stage 2--verbal versus GestureLaser 98 s (SD 20) versus 64 s (SD 7), P = 0.002 - were significantly shorter when the GestureLaser was used. The study shows that the laser pointing system can be used to remotely instruct a novice operator in performing thoracentesis. It could improve collaboration between geographically separated sites.

The objective of this research is to present novel methods for fabricating patterns with micro and nano-scale features on homo-polymer substrates and polymer blend films. Top–down (irradiations through patterned openings over large areas) and bottom–up (local modifications of substrate properties) approaches were combined to introduce nano/micrometer length scale features spanning over large areas (few mm2) of the substrates which can be used for products like environmental sensors, micro-reactors etc. Ion projection lithography technique was used to create specific local interactions in different substrates viz. cross-linking in the case of uniaxially stretched homo-polymer substrates and pre-patterned substrates with varying surface energies for thin polymer blend films. The irradiation of polystyrene (PS) surfaces with ion beams led to pronounced chemical and physical modifications, when the ions were scattered at the polymer chains. The local mechanical properties of the PS surface layers could be tailored (as measured by Young´s modulus) by changing the ion doses and ion species (with different masses). By annealing pre-stretched irradiated PS near the glass transition temperature, surface rippling occurred only in the irradiated areas. The moduli obtained from rippling periodicities and elastic model assumptions were in the range between 8 to 800 MPa and characterized the irradiated PS as rubber-like. From that, the network density and the molar mass of entanglement were quantified. Results confirm that even for non-discrete layered systems, a consistent elastic description can be applied and relevant polymer parameters can be derived from the well-known surface rippling. In the case of guided polymer blend phase separation, the gold layer coated silicon substrates were bombarded with focused ion beams (FIB) to sputter away Au grains in the irradiated regions and expose silicon oxide surface underneath, thereby creating pre-patterns of relatively hydrophobic (Au) / hydrophilic (silicon oxide) regions. In the pre-patterned regions, the spin-coated films consisting of immisible PS and PtBA (poly-tert-butyl acrylate) blend exhibited phase separation induced by the underlying pre-patterns and formed two distinct ordered morphologies with periodicities much smaller than that of the pre-patterns. The effects of varying periodicities of the pre-patterned structures, pre-pattern geometries (viz. 1-D arrays of stripes and spaces and 2-D arrays of squares), blending ratios and spin-coating parameters on the resulting morphologies were investigated. Observed affinities of PS and PtBA towards Au and silicon oxide surfaces respectively were explained in terms of work of adhesions from the wetting analysis.

Analysis and Projection of spatio-temporal Drought and Climate Change Impacts on Groundwater Resources and Surface-Groundwater Interactions for three Iranian Case Studies

The ICT tool called Visualografia, is the product of the third phase of design research about “Theory and practice of data visualization in visual messengers”, this in order to give an answer to the need to manage learning processes that require students for interpreting under the thematic content early use of visual communication and technology of the digital age, to achieve effective messages targeted to specific users in society; for that reason, the information can be represented using diagrams and signs that transform the content into meaningful chromatic forms as part of the disciplinary training in Visual Communication Design. The tool was developed in a virtual environment, in the search for new interfaces in the teaching and learning processes that enable interaction with students receive theoretical and practical basics of design to the potentiation of cognitive skills to solve problems in the environment that may inhabit as individuals. A case study was chosen from teaching practice to verify the effectiveness of ICT tools in students, using a qualitative method that showed experiential results, focused on meaningful learning styles with projection to the implementation of the tool in the discipline of Visual Communication Design.

Virtual reality as training aid for manual spacecraft docking

Autonomous multisensor tracking surveillance system

Lectures on flavor physics presented at the 2012 CERN HEP Summer School. Content: 1) flavor physics within the Standard Model, 2) phenomenology of B andD decays, 3) flavor physics beyond the Standard Model. In the limit of unbroken electroweak symmetry none of the basic constituent of matter could have a non-vanishing mass. The problem of quark and lepton masses is therefore intimately related to the other big open question in particle physics: which is the mechanism behind the breaking of the electroweak symmetry, or which is the mechanism responsible for the non-vanishing masses of the weak force carriers (theW andZ bosons). Within the SM these two problems are both addressed by the Higgs mechanism: the masses of quarks and leptons, as well as the masses ofW andZ bosons, are the result of the interaction of these basic fields (both matter constituents and force carriers) with a new type of field, the Higgs scalar field, whose ground state breaks spontaneously the electroweak symmetry. The recent observation by the ATLAS and CMS experiments of a new state compatible with the properties of the Higgs boson (or the spin-0 excitation of the Higgs field) has significantly reinforced the evidences in favor of the Higgs mechanisms and the validity of the SM. However, we have also clear indications that this theory is not complete: the phenomenon of neutrino oscillations and the evidence for dark matter cannot be explained within the SM. The SM is also affected by a serious theoretical problem because of the instability of the Higgs sector under quantum corrections. We have not yet enough information to unambiguously determine how this theory should be extended; however, most realistic proposals point toward the existence of new degrees of freedom in the TeV range, possibly accessible at the high-pT experiments at the LHC. The description of quark and lepton masses in terms of the Higgs mechanism is particularly un- satisfactory since the corresponding interactions is not controlled by any symmetry principle, contrary to all other known interactions, resulting in a large number of free parameters. Beside determining quark masses, the interaction of the quarks with the Higgs is responsible for the peculiar pattern of mixing of

The experimental design is a series of tests, both using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics that aims to transform the input variables into an output which is the response of the experiment. In one study, the response sometimes observed in every experiment performed more than once at different times during the study called with Repeated Measures. Observation time as if viewed as an additional factor, resulting in a repeated measures seen as a two-factor design with split-plot patterns. Factors that attempted allocated as main plots and allocated observation time as a subplot. Step-by-step analysis to test the normality of the error, test the homogeneity of variance, determine the degrees of freedom, sum of squares and mean squares of each factor. The next hypothesis to test for factor a, factor b and interaction affect both whether the observed response. If any effect, it is necessary to further test the Duncan test. The data used are secondary data on the effect of temperature, time of observation and interaction both the amylase enzyme produced by the bacterium bacillus subtilis. Results obtained by the analysis of temperature, time of observation and interaction both significantly influence the observed response.