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Autonomous Vehicles (AVs), also known as self-driving cars, are becoming more prevalent in our daily lives. AVs rely on sensor information to evaluate their environment and make crucial decisions in real-time, however, new attacks can create false sensor and actuation commands. As technological advancements expand the usage of AVs to perform more complex tasks, it is imperative to secure the integrity of these devices against malicious external tampering. In this paper, we propose a security framework we call Shared Reality, which consists of verifying that sensors perceive the same physical reality. We implement our design on a custom hardware platform that uses the popular Robot Operating System (ROS) software. Our experiments show that AVs utilizing our proposed security framework ensure security with low overhead while performing several autonomous tasks.

The role of the observer is essential in determining the reality as well as making measurements of the state of a physical situation. This observation becomes important in elaborating a long-standing paradox of physics known as the Twin Paradox of the Special Theory of Relativity (STR). Einstein showed that the time interval between two events determined by a moving observer is greater than that determined by a stationary observer. The effect is known as time dilation. However, it leads to the paradox that a twin brother returning from a space trip is younger than his twin sister who had stayed home. The resolution of the paradox is assisted by introducing a new requirement of physics called the “reality test.” This states that whatever an observer measures must be real. It also reveals that discrepancies in time measurements can be attributed to the change of state the traveling twin undergoes as he changes velocity over the journey.

In this paper, I introduce and discuss technologically-mediated ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) in the form of role play videos. I suggest using haptic audio-visuality as a theoretical elaboration to describe a form of touching with the eyes and the ears through interpersonal triggers, direct address and directional touching. And I present ASMR role play videos as a category that can be viewed as both a shared pleasure and a personal experience. Despite its mediated — body-to-screen rather than body-to-body — and one-way format, research suggests that ASMR can be regarded as an intimate, present and interpersonal experience. ASMR has succeeded in integrating the viewer-listeners’ physical reality with virtuality and creating a perception of presence. What is missing, however, is a more in-depth exploration of how this perception of presence is created through the performative construction of a particular kind of attuned, imaginative and interactive viewer-listener within ASMR role play videos. This is what I intend to explore in this paper.

It is shown that the entire practice of using Ohm’s law in the theory of linear AC circuits is a theoretical and experimental evidence of physical reality of imaginary numbers. And therefore, the version of the special theory of relativity (STR) set forth in all physics textbooks, denying physical reality of imaginary numbers through the use of the principle of light speed non-exceedance, is incorrect.

Conducting interfaces between polar and nonpolar insulating oxides, e.g., ${\mathrm{LaAlO}}_{3}/{\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3}$, have generated interest for both fundamental physics and oxide-electronics applications. Current understanding is based on an amalgamation of a classical electrostatic model (polar catastrophe model) that was originally derived for semi-infinite solids and quantum density-functional-theory (DFT) results on ultrathin films. Here we report comprehensive DFT calculations that unveil a very different purely quantum physical reality. We show that, for ultrathin polar films, the interfacial dipole does not control the electrostatic potential in the polar film---the surface and interface play equal roles, and the absence or presence of centrosymmetry in the physical LAO film results in different, purely quantum mechanisms for the generation of a conducting interface, neither involving physical-charged transfer. Predictions are made that can be tested and can guide technology development.

The first quantum revolution started in the early 20th century and gave us new rules that govern physical reality [...]

Virtual worlds and online interactions are the base of cyberpop culture, in which consumption also causes production of meaning. It possibly can, but does not have to bring out subversive and/or activist potential. The overflow of the virtual into the spaces of physical reality, by use of technologies as gestural interfaces, holographic projections and the like, allows direct bodily interactions with virtual objects. Some of these objects are so-called virtual idols. Their appearance, identity and celebrity status are constructed and assigned by real people in the real world. This paper analyses the role of fans in the creation of the most famous virtual idol, the vocaloid Hatsune Miku. Based on this analysis, the paper puts forward a thesis that existence of Hatsune Miku puts emphasis on the activity (participation) per se, instead of activism. It does not serve the idea of social change, but the maintaining of the social status quo.

espanolLa teoria de los sistemas no lineales no sigue estrictamente el “dogma general de la invariabilidad de las leyes fisicas” en el analisis del sistema social, toda vez que la realidad es una continuidad vital de orden y caos, contrariamente al sistema cerrado y autosuficiente del analisis funcional, que sigue estrictamente el modelo del reloj en el que lo previsible y determinado forma parte de la realidad fisica. Sin embargo, la explicacion de los hechos pasa por tendencias deterministas y tendencias aleatorias, se logra, en tal sentido, que las predicciones y la probabilidad vayan juntas, dejando en claro que el mundo fisico y la realidad social no son determinismo absoluto, ni azar permanente, ni admision sin reservas que abre las puertas del futuro sobre la posibilidad de nuevos analisis del caos al orden y del orden al caos. EnglishThe theory of non-linear systems does not strictly follow the “general dogma of the invariability of physical laws” in the analysis of the social system, since reality is a vital continuity of order and chaos, contrary to the closed and self-sufficient system of the functional analysis, which strictly follows the model of the time clock in which the predictable and determined is part of physical reality. However, the explanation of the facts goes through deterministic tendencies and random tendencies, achieving that in this sense, predictions and probability go together, making it clear that the physical world and social reality are not absolute determinism, nor permanent chance, nor unreserved admission that opens the doors of the future to the possibility of new analyzes from chaos to order and the other way around.

The initial estimate of the flow rate of now liberated crude oil following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil platform turned out to be a factor of 50 times lower than the physical reality. This initial estimate, provided by the corporate owner of the oil platform, British Petroleum (BP), was a leak rate of 1,000 barrels per day (bpd). This number was not based on any scientific approach and was never put into context, for the media or the public, of whether this was a big or small number (i.e., how many bpd is equivalent to filling a bathtub for 24 h) and was simply accepted as the physical reality. As a consequence, the initial response to the disaster would plan for a scope that was much smaller than what ultimately unfolded. Furthermore, since 1,000 bpd turns out to be a small number, the initial strategy was based on the belief that the leak could be patched and therefore a fix was manageable. Here we show that (a) simple physical reasoning at the time of the occurrence would have lead to initial estimates that were close to the final estimate (determined 2 months after the initial incident) of about 50,000 bpd; (b) there was an unnecessarily slow time evolution to involve the scientific community to gather relevant data that would vastly improve the estimate and; (c) this slow evolution in unmasking the physical reality of the situation prevented a more robust governmental response to the problem. Even though the government, through National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), revised the leak rate to 5,000 bpd one week after the disaster, another month would elapse before it was officially recognized that the leak rate was essentially 10 times higher.

espanolEl derecho a los cielos nocturnos oscuros desde un emplazamiento juridico implica la apertura de nuevos horizontes para el Derecho administrativo, en tanto la preservacion del cielo libre de contaminacion luminica, compromete la accion de los entes publicos en la regulacion de multiples factores que van directamente a la modificacion de la realidad fisica del mundo que nos rodea y de la misma vida. Si bien la iluminacion nocturna es un servicio indispensable para el funcionamiento de las grandes ciudades, muy poco se conoce sobre las consecuencias del uso ineficiente, innecesario y extremo de fuentes de luz artificial. El derecho a los cielos nocturnos sin contaminacion luminica, implica adoptarlo en el marco de los valores de una sociedad que continua en la perdida de lo natural y que a medida que avanza en lo tecnologico, dispone de menos tiempo libre. En general, para las zonas urbanizadas deberan emitirse por parte de los gobiernos locales, una serie de medidas para la reduccion de la contaminacion luminica, desde el alumbrado publico adecuado, hasta la reduccion del nivel de iluminacion en los comercios y oficinas, asi como el cumplimiento de reglas para la instalacion y funcionamiento del alumbrado publico y ornamental. EnglishThe right to dark night skies from a legal location implies the opening of new horizons for administrative law, while the preservation of the sky free of light pollution, compromises the action of public entities in the regulation of multiple factors that go directly to the modification of the physical reality of the world around us and of life itself. While night lighting is an indispensable service for the operation of large cities, very little is known about the consequences of inefficient, unnecessary and extreme use of artificial light sources. The right to night skies without light pollution, implies adopting it within the framework of the values ​​of a society that continues in the loss of the natural and that as it advances in technology, has less free time. In general, for urbanized areas, a series of measures for the reduction of light pollution should be issued by local governments, from adequate public lighting, to the reduction of the level of lighting in shops and offices, as well as the Compliance with rules for the installation and operation of public and ornamental lighting.

Knowledge of Etna's eruptions has been profoundly influenced by the illustrations, though these can only provide limited information on the lava flows and their effects on the territory. Indeed, the absence of iconographic sources or again the disparity between the physical reality and the illustrations has led to many gaps and uncertainties that have lasted for centuries. This paper traces the progress of the representations of the historical eruptions of Etna volcano, from the earliest attempts in the 17th century, be they iconographic documents or pictorial illustrations, to the modern geological cartography of 21st century. It seeks to reconstruct the evolution of the history and methods of representing Etnean eruptions, highlighting the crucial steps in the progress of knowledge on the historical flank eruptions. The turning point in the long process of drawing and rendering the eruptions of Etna came with the work of Sartorius von Waltershausen, with the realization of the first geological map of the volcano at a 1:50,000 scale between 1836 and 1843. In this long history of the representations of eruptions, begun in the 17th century, Sartorius' cartography finally overcame the problem of rendering these events in space by inserting the notion of history in the map. What now remained for those engaged in mapping the volcano was to solve the issue of defining the “time” of Etna's historical lava flows. This would be tackled only at the end of the 20th century with a multidisciplinary approach comprising stratigraphy, historiographical studies and the dating of the lavas. In this frame, the present state of the knowledge of the flank eruptions occurring on Etna in the past 2500 year has evidenced that during the Greek-Roman and Medieval epochs up to the 17th century flank eruptions commonly involved the middle-lower slopes, impacting mainly the south sector of the volcano with the location of the eruptive fissure sometimes below 1000 m of altitude. This eruptive behavior of the volcano has been radically modified following the occurrence of the large 1669 eruptions since the opening of the fissures was mainly concentrated in the upper-middle slopes between 1600 m and 2500 m a.s.l.

Nicholas of Cusa was first of all a theologian but he was interested also in mathematic and natural sciences. In fact philosophico-theological and mathematical ideas were intertwined by him, theological and philosophical ideas influenced his mathematical considerations, in particular when he considered philosophical problems connected with mathematics and vice versa, mathematical ideas and examples were used by him to explain some ideas from theology. In this paper we attempt to indicate this mutual influence. We shall concentrate on the following problems: (1) the role and place of mathematics and mathematical knowledge in knowledge in general and in particular in theological knowledge, (2) ontology of mathematical objects and their origin, in particular their relations to God and their meaning for the description of the world and physical reality, (3) infinity in mathematics versus infinity in theology and their mutual relations and connections. It will be shown that—according to Nicholas—mathematics and mathematical thinking are tools of rationalization of theology and liberating it in a certain sense from the trap of apophatic theology.

Tim Maudlin has claimed that EPR’s Reality Criterion is analytically true. We argue that it is not. Moreover, one may be a subjectivist about quantum probabilities without giving up on objective physical reality. Thus, would-be detractors must reject QBism and other epistemic approaches to quantum theory on other grounds.

Some (admittedly controversial) models of physical reality propose that it is, at the fundamental level, based on a certain type of graph, called a spin-network (and this among other models of physical reality based on graphs). Recently, astronomers have verified that the otherwise empty reaches of intergalactic space are laced with wispy tendrils of hot gas that connect galaxies. On a more quotidian level, the machine on which I'm typing this document is constructed out of components that are essentially graphs, those components being connected by electrical edges forming an even larger graph, and this one device in turn being connected via various links to millions of other nodes in a huge global graph called the internet. The notion of a graph encompasses all levels of reality, from the subatomic through everyday life and reaching out to the cosmological scale.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the interaction of enclosure and disclosure, and analyze the dynamics of this bond. It also investigates the interaction between open spaces and closed spaces in housing areas as fundamental public and private realms of the neighbourhoods to understand the relation between physical and social environments. Design/methodology/approach The research aims to grasp the effects of open spaces on the development of the physical and social structures in a community at the intersection of enclosure and disclosure. To display potentials of the relation between these two notions, the behavioural treatments at the intersection of open space and housing units as the basic modules of the pattern, and the effects of spatial organization forms on them are explored. The methodology of the study is formed through the clarification of tangible and intangible facts simultaneously, conducted by spatial and behavioural analysis. Findings The intersection of enclosure and disclosure in neighbourhoods receives both practical and academic attention. The zone not only creates appropriate conditions for a vital urban life, but also helps to generate social structure in the neighbourhood. Furthermore, although the modernist settlements are criticized because of urban monotony and lifelessness since the last two and three decades of the twentieth century, it is seen that the situations in which “the spatial organization of housing units” and “the formation of urban pattern of the settlement” were dealt synchronously generate vividness and achievement in an urban context. Originality/value The study aims to grasp how the intersection zone is affected by the differences of “urban activities in open spaces as one of the main indicators of vividness” and “spatial organization of dwelling units with a perspective from the other side of the border”. Moreover, to understand the capacity of the intersection zone in physical reality, the research aims to evaluate theoretical data through the actual dynamics of daily life. The combination of various research methods that constituted mostly spatial and behavioural analysis is one of the most robust sides of the research.

Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly gaining importance as a valuable methodical tool for psychological research. The greatest benefit of using VR is generating rich, complex and vivid, but still highly controllable settings. As VR has been found to elicit lifelike psychophysiological and emotional responses, we examined by means of a height exposure whether VR resembles physical reality to the necessary degree to constitute a suitable framework for investigating real-life behavior in a controlled experimental context. As hypothesized, participants behaved in VR exactly as would be appropriate in a real environment: Being exposed to great height, participants walked significantly slower across a virtual steel girder construction protruding from a high-rise building as compared to participants who traversed the very same construction on the ground level. In the height condition, this realistic behavior could be predicted on basis of the participants' trait anxiety. Aligned with the behavioral responses, they showed realistic psychophysiological responses, i.e., an elevated heart rate when exposed to height. Interestingly, participants of the height condition reported a greater sense of presence, which indicates that emotions have an elevating effect on presence. As a conclusion, our findings provide further evidence that VR evokes lifelike responses at both behavioral and psychophysiological level and therefore increases ecological validity of psychological experiments.

Multiple records of global temperature contain periods of decadal length with flat or declining temperature trend, often termed a ‘hiatus’. Towards assessing the physical reality of two such periods (1940–1972 and 1998–2014), lightning data are examined. Lightning activity is of particular interest because on many different time scales it has been shown to be non-linearly dependent on temperature. During the earlier hiatus, declining trends in regional thunder days have been documented. During the more recent hiatus, lightning observations from the Lightning Imaging Sensor in space show no trend in flash rate. Surface-based, radiosonde-based and satellite-based estimates of global temperature have all been examined to support the veracity of the hiatus in global warming over the time interval of the satellite-based lightning record. Future measurements are needed to capture the total global lightning activity on a continuous basis.

The rationale and scope of the main issues of antioxidant measurement are presented, with basic definitions and terms in antioxidant research (such as reactive species and related antioxidative defenses, oxidative stress, and antioxidant activity and capacity) in a historical background. An overview of technical problems and expectations is given in terms of interpretation of results, precision and comparability of methods, capability of simulating physical reality, and analytical performance (sensitivity, selectivity, etc.). Current analytical methods for measuring antioxidant and antiradical activity are classified from various viewpoints. Reaction kinetics and thermodynamics of current analytical methods are discussed, describing physicochemical aspects of antioxidant action and measurement. Controversies and limitations of the widely used antioxidant assays are elaborated in detail. Emerging techniques in antioxidant testing (e.g., nanotechnology, sensors, electrochemistry, chemometry, and hyphenated methods) are broadly introduced. Finally, hints for the selection of suitable assays (i.e., preferable for a specific purpose) and future prospects are given.

This article identifies, and explores the nature of, a number of “explanatory gaps” between our conception of physical reality and our cultural understanding, in particular our understanding of language and experience of reality. Some suggestions are made to address those gaps. On the one hand, certain positions in physical science are widely accepted; physical monism, the commonality of behaviour, reality at a quantum level, biological entities as temporary clusters of atoms held together by energy fields, and “facts” as constructs. On the other hand, reality as we experience it is “of many sorts” (Popper, 1972); neither physical nor perceptual, but verbally constructed, “unreal” in any physical or historical sense. Language is rooted in sociality and qualitatively different from other forms of communication. The article identifies and considers some major disparities and some tentative ways of reconciling them. In particular, it addresses the disparity between physical reality and fiction or purely imaginary reality (the “Cinderella Problem”) through the notions “what if...?” and “as if”.

Joint property in three-dimensional discontinuous deformation analysis (3-D DDA) is crucial. The joint property in a contact relies upon just one of the contacting objects in original 3-D DDA, which is not always sufficiently accurate and can even yield unreasonable results. To overcome the limitations in original 3-D DDA, an improved joint definition and determination method that simultaneously considers the joint properties of both connected objects for contacts is proposed, which permits the applied joint parameters to change in the simulation. Several numerical examples are evaluated to demonstrate the advantage and applicability of the proposed method. The simulation results computed by the improved 3-D DDA accord well with the analytical expectations and physical reality, while the original 3-D DDA shows unphysical results. The improved 3-D DDA can provide more reliable information in rockslide disaster prevention and mitigation because joint parameters in a contact can be chosen appropriately in real time during simulations. Therefore, the improved 3-D DDA is more applicable and accurate, which can be further extended to more generalized theoretical and engineering problems.

OBJECTIVES Minimally invasive mitral valve surgery (MIMVS) through an endoscopic right minithoracotomy is a well-established yet complex procedure that has a challenging learning curve. We have developed a simulator for MIMVS and evaluated its short- and long-term training effects. METHODS Trainees without simulator experience or training in MIMVS were divided into 2 groups (10 students and 10 residents) and participated in a 5-day training course after initial instruction. Each trainee performed a ring annuloplasty. Scores were given by a supervisor who assessed 5 skills. The duration of each procedure was also measured. To evaluate the long-term effect of the training course, trainees performed the same procedure 4 weeks after the last session. RESULTS Trainees in the resident group were significantly older compared to those in the student group and had a mean surgical experience of 4.4 ± 0.78 years standard error of the mean. All other demographic data were similar. Significant learning curves could be achieved in both groups over the course of 5 days with regard to total skill scores and total duration. However, when we compared the learning curves of both groups, no significant difference could be seen. Long-term performance in both groups was still significantly better compared to that in the first training session. CONCLUSIONS Training with our simulator provided a significant enhancement of a trainee’s performance. This learning effect was achieved in both groups and was still evident 4 weeks later. We strongly recommend our simulator for simulation-based surgical education of cardiac surgeons interested in MIMVS.

SummaryThis paper documents autonomous multi-floor stairwell ascent by a legged robot. This is made possible through empirically deployed sequential composition of several reactive controllers, with perceptually triggered transitions. This composition relies on simplified assumptions regarding the robot’s sensory capabilities, its level of mobility, and the environment it operates in. The discrepancies between these assumptions and the physical reality are capably handled by the intrinsic motor competence of the robot. This behavior is implemented on the legged RHex platform and experiments spanning 10 different stairwells with various challenges are conducted.

As it has accrued meaning over time, outer space has become as much a social construct as a physical reality. Because space is a product of the imagination, its contours are not stable and are subject to needs and desires that shift and evolve according to social, political, and economic priorities. This article examines differing relationships to space that shed light on the social and political dynamics that defined their historical moments—in particular the different iterations of the democratic impulse that these relationships express. This article compares the emergence of the dualistic and nation-based discourse of the late 1950s and 1960s Cold War era out of the first satellite and rocket launches to present-day ‘NewSpace,’ which is characterized by free enterprise and the logic of commodification. In the process, it touches on the 1986 by the Challenger mission and the emblematic figure of school teacher Christa McAuliffe; however, attention is paid primarily to how she represented a transitional moment between the global, nation-building priorities of the Cold War and the contemporary profit-driven individualism of NewSpace. The article concentrates on Cold War spaceflight and contemporary space tourism because they offer in the most vivid way a glimpse into how society's own projections have populated the universe.