Evaluation of the GPS Accuracy of Tablets

Augmented Reality (AR) applications often require knowledge of the user’s position in some global coordinate system in order to draw the augmented content to its correct position on the screen. The most common method for coarse positioning is the Global Positioning System (GPS). One of the advantages of GPS is that GPS receivers can be found in almost every modern mobile device. This research was conducted in order to determine the accuracies of different GPS receivers. The tests included seven consumer-grade tablets, three external GPS modules and one professional-grade GPS receiver. All of the devices were tested with both static and mobile measurements. It was concluded that even the cheaper external GPS receivers were notably more accurate than the GPS receivers of the tested tablets. The absolute accuracy of the tablets is difficult to determine from the test results, since the results vary by a large margin between different measurements. The accuracy of the tested tablets in static measurements were between 0.30 meters and 13.75 meters.

A comparative study of navigation meshes

International audience

EACS: Effective Avoidance Combination Strategy

International audience

Corpos tatuados : experiências sensíveis em realidade aumentada móvel

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Artes, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Artes, 2015.

Média-arte locativa e mapeamentos dinâmicos na compreensão de fluxos urbanos : o contributo do dispositivo móvel na atividade do caminhar como prática artística

O interesse pela análise de espaços urbanos através de dispositivos comunicacionais móveis (de meios digitais) – perspetivando a sua transformação contando com a participação colaborativa da população – traduz o enquadramento geral da investigação. As práticas artísticas, complementadas por métodos de estudo de cidades (capazes de abordarem a respetiva complexidade de modo multioperativo e flexível), foram integradas na pesquisa tendo em linha de conta o acentuado desenvolvimento que as mesmas têm conhecido para a compreensão da atual condição urbana. O resultado foca a hibridização de processos que permitem acrescentar conhecimento coletivo sobre estruturas urbanas, expresso em mapeamentos dinâmicos que promovem leituras aumentadas de realidades urbanas. Assente no enquadramento teórico e respetiva revisão da literatura (abrangendo áreas disciplinares da média-arte locativa, da análise urbana e dos mapeamentos dinâmicos), procedeu-se ao desenvolvimento de dois artefactos complementares, cuja elaboração implicou três fases: i) pré-produção; ii) produção; iii) pós-produção. Na primeira, conceptualizaram-se os artefactos, definindo-se critérios e especificando parâmetros de análise. Complementarmente, consideraram-se softwares a utilizar bem como a seleção de atores urbanos que participaram em experiências associadas à investigação. No que se refere à produção, encetaram-se diversas ações de apropriação e apreensão de espaços urbanos selecionados na Vila de Caminha, recorrendo à técnica do caminhar mediado pela tecnologia. Na terceira fase, a informação resultante foi analisada, comparada e sistematizada através de uma reflexão final. Registaram-se marcas e apropriações na Vila de Caminha, integrando abordagens da média-arte locativa, da morfologia urbana e tecnologias digitais. A partir desta metodologia, a resposta aos objetivos da investigação contribui para a colmatação da lacuna identificada no estado arte, dado demonstrar-se a relevância da convergência operativa entre a apreensão urbana e os fluxos informacionais e comunicacionais para o revelar de vivências espaciais urbanas quotidianas (passadas e presentes) que ocorrem sobre a estrutura física das cidades. Em síntese, as práticas artísticas, provindas da média-arte locativa, expressam – em mapeamentos dinâmicos e através de realidade aumentada – o devir coletivo de experiências individuais nos espaços das cidades, acrescentando histórias à sua memória e história urbana.

Eye for an eye

Artist David Lyons and computer scientist David Flatla work collaboratively to create art that intentionally targets audiences of varying visual abilities mediated through smart device interfaces. Conceived as an investigation into theories and practices of visual perception, they explore the idea that artwork can be intentionally created to be experienced differently dependent on one’s visual abilities. They have created motion graphics and supporting recolouring and colour vision deficiency (CVD) simulation software. Some of the motion graphics communicate details specifically to those with colour blindness/CVD by containing moving imagery only seen by those with CVD. Others will contain moving images that those with typical colour vision can experience but appear to be unchanging to people with CVD. All the artwork is revealed for both audiences through the use of specially programmed smart devices, fitted with augmented reality recolouring and CVD simulation software. The visual elements come from various sources, including the Ishihara Colour Blind Test, movie marques, and game shows. The software created reflects the perceptual capabilities of most individuals with reduced colour vision. The development of the simulation software and the motion graphic series are examined and discussed from both computer science and artistic positions.

Sviluppo di un sistema di Realta Aumentata applicato a un modello 3D della prostata, sviluppato a partire da immagini RM, al fine di facilitare la dissezione del tumore e la conservazione dei fasci neuro vascolari durante l'intervento chirurgico di prostatectomia radicale robot-assistita

La realtà aumentata (AR) è una nuova tecnologia adottata in chirurgia prostatica con l'obiettivo di migliorare la conservazione dei fasci neurovascolari (NVB) ed evitare i margini chirurgici positivi (PSM). Abbiamo arruolato prospetticamente pazienti con diagnosi di cancro alla prostata (PCa) sul base di biopsia di fusione mirata con mpMRI positiva. Prima dell'intervento, i pazienti arruolati sono stati indirizzati a sottoporsi a ricostruzione del modello virtuale 3D basato su mpMRI preoperatoria immagini. Infine, il chirurgo ha eseguito la RARP con l'ausilio del modello 3D proiettato in AR all'interno della console robotica (RARP guidata AR-3D). I pazienti sottoposti a AR RARP sono stati confrontati con quelli sottoposti a "RARP standard" nello stesso periodo. Nel complesso, i tassi di PSM erano comparabili tra i due gruppi; I PSM a livello della lesione indice erano significativamente più bassi nei pazienti riferiti al gruppo AR-3D (5%) rispetto a quelli nel gruppo di controllo (20%; p = 0,01). La nuova tecnica di guida AR-3D per l'analisi IFS può consentono di ridurre i PSM a livello della lesione dell'indice

Exploring domain-informed and physics-guided learning in image-to-image translation

Image-to-image (i2i) translation networks can generate fake images beneficial for many applications in augmented reality, computer graphics, and robotics. However, they require large scale datasets and high contextual understanding to be trained correctly. In this thesis, we propose strategies for solving these problems, improving performances of i2i translation networks by using domain- or physics-related priors. The thesis is divided into two parts. In Part I, we exploit human abstraction capabilities to identify existing relationships in images, thus defining domains that can be leveraged to improve data usage efficiency. We use additional domain-related information to train networks on web-crawled data, hallucinate scenarios unseen during training, and perform few-shot learning. In Part II, we instead rely on physics priors. First, we combine realistic physics-based rendering with generative networks to boost outputs realism and controllability. Then, we exploit naive physical guidance to drive a manifold reorganization, which allowed generating continuous conditions such as timelapses.

AIRYE: Uno strumento in realtà aumentata per la produzione musicale

L’elaborato di tesi che segue si propone di ricercare una nuova linea di esperienza utente e d’interazione attraverso la tecnologia della realtà aumentata contestualizzata nel mondo della produzione musicale. La tesi analizza innanzitutto la tecnologia come strumento d’interazione, la sua storia e la sua evoluzione fino ai nostri giorni con un excursus sui campi applicativi e i device utili per avere un’esperienza completa. L’analisi prosegue attraverso un’attenta ricerca sullo stato dell’arte e sulle applicazioni di realtà aumentata nel campo della musica presenti sul mercato per giungere ad una dettagliata indagine sugli strumenti che hanno indirizzato il concept di progetto. L’output di progetto è rappresentato da un’interfaccia 2d per la parametrizzazione di alcuni settaggi fondamentali ed infine da un’interfaccia semplificata in realtà aumentata. Quest’ultima è composta prevalentemente da sliders con cui è possibile modificare dei parametri della traccia audio portando l’esperienza di produzione musicale verso una concezione democratica, semplificata e giocosa. L’obiettivo di progetto è stato quello di creare un sistema di facile utilizzo anche da parti di utenti poco esperti con i software Daw presenti sul mercato attualmente.

Conceptualization of an Electric Compact SUV for the American and Italian Market using the IDeS Method

Electric cars are increasingly popular due to a transition of mobility towards more sustainable forms. From an increasingly green and pollution reduction perspective, there are more and more incentives that encourage customers to invest in electric cars. Using the Industrial Design and Structure (IDeS) research method, this project has the aim to design a new electric compact SUV suitable for all people who live in the city, and for people who move outside urban areas. In order to achieve the goal of developing a new car in the industrial automotive environment, the compact SUV segment was chosen because it is a vehicle very requested by the costumers and it is successful in the market due to its versatility. IDeS is a combination of innovative and advanced systematic approaches used to set up a new industrial project. The IDeS methodology is sequentially composed of Quality Function Deployment (QFD), Benchmarking (BM), Top-Flop analysis (TFA), Stylistic Design Engineering (SDE), Design for X, Prototyping, Testing, Budgeting, and Planning. The work is based on a series of steps and the sequence of these must be meticulously scheduled, imposing deadlines along the work. Starting from an analysis of the market and competitors, the study of the best and worst existing parameters in the competitor’s market is done, arriving at the idea of a better product in terms of numbers and innovation. After identifying the characteristics that the new car should have, the other step is the styling part, with the definition of the style and the design of the machine on a 3D CAD. Finally, it switches to the prototyping and testing phase to see if the product is able to work. Ultimately, intending to place the car on the market, it is essential to estimate the necessary budget for a possible investment in this project.

An Embedded In-Cabin Lightweight High-Performance 3D Gaze Estimation System

Gaze estimation has gained interest in recent years for being an important cue to obtain information about the internal cognitive state of humans. Regardless of whether it is the 3D gaze vector or the point of gaze (PoG), gaze estimation has been applied in various fields, such as: human robot interaction, augmented reality, medicine, aviation and automotive. In the latter field, as part of Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS), it allows the development of cutting-edge systems capable of mitigating road accidents by monitoring driver distraction. Gaze estimation can be also used to enhance the driving experience, for instance, autonomous driving. It also can improve comfort with augmented reality components capable of being commanded by the driver's eyes. Although, several high-performance real-time inference works already exist, just a few are capable of working with only a RGB camera on computationally constrained devices, such as a microcontroller. This work aims to develop a low-cost, efficient and high-performance embedded system capable of estimating the driver's gaze using deep learning and a RGB camera. The proposed system has achieved near-SOTA performances with about 90% less memory footprint. The capabilities to generalize in unseen environments have been evaluated through a live demonstration, where high performance and near real-time inference were obtained using a webcam and a Raspberry Pi4.

L’efficacia dei programmi di teleriabilitazione nel trattamento post-chirurgico di spalla: una revisione sistematica della letteratura

Background: Attualmente, diversi approcci riabilitatavi vengono proposti per il miglioramento del dolore e della funzione a seguito di intervento chirurgico alla spalla. La teleriabilitazione si è rivelata una valida alternativa per l’erogazione dei servizi riabilitativi a distanza: grazie all’utilizzo delle tecnologie di telecomunicazione, è possibile fornire consulenza, valutazione, monitoraggio, intervento e educazione, superando le barriere geografiche, temporali, sociali ed economiche. Obiettivo: Lo scopo della revisione è valutare le prove di efficacia presenti in letteratura in merito all’utilizzo della teleriabilitazione per il miglioramento funzionale dei pazienti operati di spalla. Metodi: La revisione è stata redatta secondo la checklist del PRISMA statement. La ricerca è stata condotta da aprile a settembre 2022, consultando le banche dati Cochrane Library, PubMed e PEDro. La ricerca è stata limitata a studi primari sperimentali e quasi, con full-text reperibile in lingua italiana o inglese e senza limiti temporali, inerenti soggetti operati alla spalla trattati con diverse modalità di teleriabilitazione. Come elemento di confronto è stato incluso qualsiasi tipo di intervento riabilitativo convenzionale. La qualità metodologica è stata valutata con la PEDro scale. Risultati: sono stati inclusi 4 RCT e 1 CCT, che hanno indagato misure di outcome relative a: dolore, mobilità articolare, forza, abilità funzionale e qualità della vita. Dall’analisi qualitativa dei risultati degli studi si è osservato che in tutti i gruppi sperimentali si sono ottenuti miglioramenti significativi negli outcome d’interesse; in due studi è stata evidenziata una superiorità statisticamente significativa della teleriabilitazione. Conclusioni: Nonostante la revisione non sia giunta a risultati generalizzabili e di validità assoluta, la teleriabilitazione ha dimostrato di essere una modalità sicura ed efficace nel miglioramento clinico e funzionale dei soggetti operati alla spalla.

A new concept for a Sport-Coupè car developed with the Industrial Design Structure method (IDeS)

The aim of this study, conducted in collaboration with Lawrence Technological University in Detroit, is to create, through the method of the Industrial Design Structure (IDeS), a new concept for a sport-coupe car, based on a restyling of a retro model (Ford Mustang 1967). To date, vintage models of cars always arouse great interest both for the history behind them and for the classic and elegant style. Designing a model of a vehicle that can combine the charm of retro style with the innovation and comfort of modern cars would allow to meet the needs and desires of a large segment of the market that today is forced to choose between past and future. Thanks to a well-conceived concept car an automaker company is able to express its future policy, to make a statement of intent as, such a prototype, ticks all the boxes, from glamour and visual wow-factor to technical intrigue and design fascination. IDeS is an approach that makes use of many engineering tools to realize a study developed on several steps that must be meticulously organized and timed. With a deep analysis of the trends dominating the automotive industry it is possible to identify a series of product requirements using quality function deployment (QFD). The considerations from this first evaluation led to the definition of the technical specifications via benchmarking (BM) and top-flop analysis (TFA). Then, the structured methodology of stylistic design engineering (SDE) is applied through six phases: (1) stylistic trends analysis; (2) sketches; (3) 2D CAD drawings; (4) 3D CAD models; (5) virtual prototyping; (6) solid stylistic model. Finally, Developing the IDeS method up to the final stages of Prototypes and Testing you get a product as close as possible to the ideal vehicle conceptualized in the initial analysis.

Least square projection: A fast high-precision multidimensional projection technique and its application to document mapping

The problem of projecting multidimensional data into lower dimensions has been pursued by many researchers due to its potential application to data analyses of various kinds. This paper presents a novel multidimensional projection technique based on least square approximations. The approximations compute the coordinates of a set of projected points based on the coordinates of a reduced number of control points with defined geometry. We name the technique Least Square Projections ( LSP). From an initial projection of the control points, LSP defines the positioning of their neighboring points through a numerical solution that aims at preserving a similarity relationship between the points given by a metric in mD. In order to perform the projection, a small number of distance calculations are necessary, and no repositioning of the points is required to obtain a final solution with satisfactory precision. The results show the capability of the technique to form groups of points by degree of similarity in 2D. We illustrate that capability through its application to mapping collections of textual documents from varied sources, a strategic yet difficult application. LSP is faster and more accurate than other existing high-quality methods, particularly where it was mostly tested, that is, for mapping text sets.