This book comprises a first survey of the Collaborative Research Center SFB-TRR 141 ‘Biological Design and Integrative Structures – Analysis, Simulation and Implementation in Architecture’, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft since October 2014. The SFB-TRR 141 provides a collaborative framework for architects and engineers from the University of Stuttgart, biologists and physicists from the University of Freiburg and geoscientists and evolutionary biologists from the University of Tübingen. The programm is conceptualized as a dialogue between the disciplines and is based on the belief that that biomimetic research has the potential to lead everyone involved to new findings far beyond his individual reach. During the last few decades, computational methods have been introduced into all fields of science and technology. In architecture, they enable the geometric differentiation of building components and allow the fabrication of porous or fibre-based materials with locally adjusted physical and chemical properties. Recent developments in simulation technologies focus on multi-scale models and the interplay of mechanical phenomena at various hierarchical levels. In the natural sciences, a multitude of quantitative methods covering diverse hierarchical levels have been introduced. These advances in computational methods have opened a new era in biomimetics: local differentiation at various scales, the main feature of natural constructions, can for the first time not only be analysed, but to a certain extent also be transferred to building construction. Computational methodologies enable the direct exchange of information between fields of science that, until now, have been widely separated. As a result they lead to a new approach to biomimetic research, which, hopefully, contributes to a more sustainable development in architecture and building construction.

Learn the basics of 3D modeling for the popular Farming Simulator game

Do you want to get started with creating your own vehicles, maps, landscapes, and tools that you can use in the game and share with the Farming Simulator community? Then this is the resource for you! With the help of Jason van Gumster, you'll get up and running on everything you need to master 3D modeling and simulation—and have fun while doing it! Inside, you'll find out how to create and edit maps, start using the material panel, customize your mods by adding texture, use the correct file-naming conventions, test your mod in single and multiplayer modes, get a grip on using Vehicle XML, and so much more.

There's no denying that Farming Simulator players love modding—and now there's a trusted, friendly resource to help you take your modding skills to the next level and get even more out of your game. Written in plain English and packed with tons of step-by-step explanations, Farming Simulator Modding For Dummies is a great way to learn the ropes of 3D modeling with the tools available to you in the game. In no time, you'll be wowing your fellow gamesters—and yourself—with custom, kick-butt mods. So what are you waiting for?

Includes an easy-to-follow introduction to using the GIANTS 3D modeling tools Explains how to export models to Blender, Maya, 3DS Max, or FBX Provides tips for using the correct image format for textures Details how to use Photoshop and Audacity to create custom mods for Farming Simulator

Whether you're one of the legions of rabid fans of the popular Farming Simulator game or just someone who wants to learn the basics of 3D modeling and animation, you'll find everything you need in this handy guide.

*** Featuring a foreword by Pritzker Prize Winner Shigeru Ban ***

Bringing together experts from research and practice, Shell Structures for Architecture: Form Finding and Optimization presents contemporary design methods for shell and gridshell structures, covering form-finding and structural optimization techniques. It introduces architecture and engineering practitioners and students to structural shells and provides computational techniques to develop complex curved structural surfaces, in the form of mathematics, computer algorithms, and design case studies.

• Part I introduces the topic of shells, tracing the ancient relationship between structural form and forces, the basics of shell behaviour, and the evolution of form-finding and structural optimization techniques.

• Part II familiarizes the reader with form-finding techniques to explore expressive structural geometries, covering the force density method, thrust network analysis, dynamic relaxation and particle-spring systems.

• Part III focuses on shell shape and topology optimization, and provides a deeper understanding of gradient-based methods and meta-heuristic techniques.

• Part IV contains precedent studies of realised shells and gridshells describing their innovative design and construction methods.

Whether it be as translucent sheets, broadly stretched membranes, and inflated foil cushions or in graceful, organic curves, architecture today is utilizing plastics in the most disparate forms and for a wide variety of purposes. Innovative technical developments are constantly improving its material properties; at the same time, there is a growing new awareness of its potential as a construction material. While plastics used to be employed primarily as an inexpensive variant on traditional building materials, they are increasingly regarded in the construction world today as a serious and viable alternative, be it as supporting structures, roofs, facades, or elements of interior design and decoration. Thanks in large part to this inherent self-sufficiency, plastics are currently enjoying an unprecedented surge in popularity, even among the international architectural avant-garde – as multiwall sheets or corrugated, fiber-reinforced panels, or as filling between glass panes. And the new generation of ecological bioplastics also pays tribute to the debate on sustainability, ridding plastics of their lingering reputation as environmental offenders.

From the history of plastics and membranes in architecture to their material properties and requirements in construction and design, the Plastics and Membranes Construction Manual cuts to the chase, providing the kind of solid and comprehensive overview of the subject that readers have come to expect from the Im DETAIL series. Selected project examples round off the reference work and make it indispensable for the day-to-day life of the professional planner and for every architecture library.

This outstanding textbook by a distinguished mathematical scholar introduces the differential geometry of curves and surfaces in three-dimensional Euclidean space. The subject is presented in its simplest, most essential form, but with many explanatory details, figures and examples, and in a manner that conveys the geometric significance and theoretical and practical importance of the different concepts, methods and results involved.
The first chapters of the book focus on the basic concepts and facts of analytic geometry, the theory of space curves, and the foundations of the theory of surfaces, including problems closely related to the first and second fundamental forms. The treatment of the theory of surfaces makes full use of the tensor calculus.
The later chapters address geodesics, mappings of surfaces, special surfaces, and the absolute differential calculus and the displacement of Levi-Cività. Problems at the end of each section (with solutions at the end of the book) will help students meaningfully review the material presented, and familiarize themselves with the manner of reasoning in differential geometry.

The principal aim of analysis of tensors is to investigate those relations which remain valid when we change from one coordinate system to another. This book on Tensors requires only a knowledge of elementary calculus, differential equations and classical mechanics as pre-requisites. It provides the readers with all the information about the tensors along with the derivation of all the tensorial relations/equations in a simple manner. The book also deals in detail with topics of importance to the study of special and general relativity and the geometry of differentiable manifolds with a crystal clear exposition. The concepts dealt within the book are well supported by a number of solved examples. A carefully selected set of unsolved problems is also given at the end of each chapter, and the answers and hints for the solution of these problems are given at the end of the book. The applications of tensors to the fields of differential geometry, relativity, cosmology and electromagnetism is another attraction of the present book.

This book is intended to serve as text for postgraduate students of mathematics, physics and engineering. It is ideally suited for both students and teachers who are engaged in research in General Theory of Relativity and Differential Geometry.

A Sampler of Useful Computational Tools for Applied Geometry, Computer Graphics, and Image Processing shows how to use a collection of mathematical techniques to solve important problems in applied mathematics and computer science areas. The book discusses fundamental tools in analytical geometry and linear algebra. It covers a wide range of topics, from matrix decomposition to curvature analysis and principal component analysis to dimensionality reduction.

Written by a team of highly respected professors, the book can be used in a one-semester, intermediate-level course in computer science. It takes a practical problem-solving approach, avoiding detailed proofs and analysis. Suitable for readers without a deep academic background in mathematics, the text explains how to solve non-trivial geometric problems. It quickly gets readers up to speed on a variety of tools employed in visual computing and applied geometry.

Taking a detailed look at the newest version of one of the most popular software programs for working with music and sound, this guide shows musicians how to record multitrack audio compositions from a microphone or from any other sound signal source. Included are a description of the nature and the methods of using the main audio effects-vibrato, tremolo, delay, flanger, chorus, reverb, distortion, vocoder, and pitch shifting. Various ways of generating and processing sound data are illustrated, such as noise suppression, eliminating the consequences of signal clipping and dynamic and spectral conversion, and using built-in effects and those connected using DX. Also described are Cool Edit Pro's built-in tools for imitating the acoustics of a room using impulse responses, processing compositions with vibrations synchronized with brain waves, extracting sound data from video files and from CD digital audio tracks, converting WAV files into MP3s, and recording compact disks.

One of the most widely used texts in its field, this volume introduces the differential geometry of curves and surfaces in both local and global aspects. The presentation departs from the traditional approach with its more extensive use of elementary linear algebra and its emphasis on basic geometrical facts rather than machinery or random details. Many examples and exercises enhance the clear, well-written exposition, along with hints and answers to some of the problems.
The treatment begins with a chapter on curves, followed by explorations of regular surfaces, the geometry of the Gauss map, the intrinsic geometry of surfaces, and global differential geometry. Suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students of mathematics, this text's prerequisites include an undergraduate course in linear algebra and some familiarity with the calculus of several variables. For this second edition, the author has corrected, revised, and updated the entire volume.

This book is an introductory graduate-level textbook on the theory of smooth manifolds. Its goal is to familiarize students with the tools they will need in order to use manifolds in mathematical or scientific research--- smooth structures, tangent vectors and covectors, vector bundles, immersed and embedded submanifolds, tensors, differential forms, de Rham cohomology, vector fields, flows, foliations, Lie derivatives, Lie groups, Lie algebras, and more. The approach is as concrete as possible, with pictures and intuitive discussions of how one should think geometrically about the abstract concepts, while making full use of the powerful tools that modern mathematics has to offer.

This second edition has been extensively revised and clarified, and the topics have been substantially rearranged. The book now introduces the two most important analytic tools, the rank theorem and the fundamental theorem on flows, much earlier so that they can be used throughout the book. A few new topics have been added, notably Sard’s theorem and transversality, a proof that infinitesimal Lie group actions generate global group actions, a more thorough study of first-order partial differential equations, a brief treatment of degree theory for smooth maps between compact manifolds, and an introduction to contact structures.

Prerequisites include a solid acquaintance with general topology, the fundamental group, and covering spaces, as well as basic undergraduate linear algebra and real analysis.

Elementary, yet authoritative and scholarly, this book offers an excellent brief introduction to the classical theory of differential geometry. It is aimed at advanced undergraduate and graduate students who will find it not only highly readable but replete with illustrations carefully selected to help stimulate the student's visual understanding of geometry. The text features an abundance of problems, most of which are simple enough for class use, and often convey an interesting geometrical fact. A selection of more difficult problems has been included to challenge the ambitious student.
Written by a noted mathematician and historian of mathematics, this volume presents the fundamental conceptions of the theory of curves and surfaces and applies them to a number of examples. Dr. Struik has enhanced the treatment with copious historical, biographical, and bibliographical references that place the theory in context and encourage the student to consult original sources and discover additional important ideas there.
For this second edition, Professor Struik made some corrections and added an appendix with a sketch of the application of Cartan's method of Pfaffians to curve and surface theory. The result was to further increase the merit of this stimulating, thought-provoking text — ideal for classroom use, but also perfectly suited for self-study. In this attractive, inexpensive paperback edition, it belongs in the library of any mathematician or student of mathematics interested in differential geometry.

Beginning with a quick start tutorial which will get you up and running with SketchUp 2014 quickly, you will move on to learning the key skills you will need to wow your clients with stunning visualizations through a series practical steps, tips and tricks. If you are a SketchUp user, from an amateur right through to an architectural technician, professional architect, or designer, this is the book for you. This book is also suitable as a companion to any architectural design or multimedia course, and is accessible to anyone who has learned the basics of SketchUp.

This original text for courses in differential geometry is geared toward advanced undergraduate and graduate majors in math and physics. Based on an advanced class taught by a world-renowned mathematician for more than fifty years, the treatment introduces semi-Riemannian geometry and its principal physical application, Einstein's theory of general relativity, using the Cartan exterior calculus as a principal tool.
Starting with an introduction to the various curvatures associated to a hypersurface embedded in Euclidean space, the text advances to a brief review of the differential and integral calculus on manifolds. A discussion of the fundamental notions of linear connections and their curvatures follows, along with considerations of Levi-Civita's theorem, bi-invariant metrics on a Lie group, Cartan calculations, Gauss's lemma, and variational formulas. Additional topics include the Hopf-Rinow, Myer's, and Frobenius theorems; special and general relativity; connections on principal and associated bundles; the star operator; superconnections; semi-Riemannian submersions; and Petrov types. Prerequisites include linear algebra and advanced calculus, preferably in the language of differential forms.

 Master how to use the Julia language to solve business critical data science challenges. After covering the importance of Julia to the data science community and several essential data science principles, we start with the basics including how to install Julia and its powerful libraries. Many examples are provided as we illustrate how to leverage each Julia command, dataset, and function.

Specialized script packages are introduced and described. Hands-on problems representative of those commonly encountered throughout the data science pipeline are provided, and we guide you in the use of Julia in solving them using published datasets. Many of these scenarios make use of existing packages and built-in functions, as we cover:

1.      1. An overview of the data science pipeline along with an example illustrating the key points, implemented in Julia

2.      2. Options for Julia IDEs

3.     3.  Programming structures and functions

4.     4.  Engineering tasks, such as importing, cleaning, formatting and storing data, as well as performing data preprocessing

5.      5. Data visualization and some simple yet powerful statistics for data exploration purposes

6.      6. Dimensionality reduction and feature evaluation

7.      7. Machine learning methods, ranging from unsupervised (different types of clustering) to supervised ones (decision trees, random forests, basic neural networks, regression trees, and Extreme Learning Machines)

8.      8. Graph analysis including pinpointing the connections among the various entities and how they can be mined for useful insights.

Each chapter concludes with a series of questions and exercises to reinforce what you learned. The last chapter of the book will guide you in creating a data science application from scratch using Julia.

 

Written primarily for students who have completed the standard first courses in calculus and linear algebra, Elementary Differential Geometry, Revised 2nd Edition, provides an introduction to the geometry of curves and surfaces.

The Second Edition maintained the accessibility of the first, while providing an introduction to the use of computers and expanding discussion on certain topics. Further emphasis was placed on topological properties, properties of geodesics, singularities of vector fields, and the theorems of Bonnet and Hadamard.

This revision of the Second Edition provides a thorough update of commands for the symbolic computation programs Mathematica or Maple, as well as additional computer exercises. As with the Second Edition, this material supplements the content but no computer skill is necessary to take full advantage of this comprehensive text.

Over 36,000 copies sold worldwideAccessible, practical yet rigorous approach to a complex topic--also suitable for self-studyExtensive update of appendices on Mathematica and Maple software packagesThorough streamlining of second edition's numbering systemFuller information on solutions to odd-numbered problemsAdditional exercises and hints guide students in using the latest computer modeling tools

A solid introduction to the methods of differential geometry and tensor calculus, this volume is suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students of mathematics, physics, and engineering. Rather than a comprehensive account, it offers an introduction to the essential ideas and methods of differential geometry.
Part 1 begins by employing vector methods to explore the classical theory of curves and surfaces. An introduction to the differential geometry of surfaces in the large provides students with ideas and techniques involved in global research. Part 2 introduces the concept of a tensor, first in algebra, then in calculus. It covers the basic theory of the absolute calculus and the fundamentals of Riemannian geometry. Worked examples and exercises appear throughout the text.

Simulation-Based Optimization: Parametric Optimization Techniques and Reinforcement Learning introduce the evolving area of static and dynamic simulation-based optimization. Covered in detail are model-free optimization techniques – especially designed for those discrete-event, stochastic systems which can be simulated but whose analytical models are difficult to find in closed mathematical forms.

Key features of this revised and improved Second Edition include:

· Extensive coverage, via step-by-step recipes, of powerful new algorithms for static simulation optimization, including simultaneous perturbation, backtracking adaptive search and nested partitions, in addition to traditional methods, such as response surfaces, Nelder-Mead search and meta-heuristics (simulated annealing, tabu search, and genetic algorithms)

· Detailed coverage of the Bellman equation framework for Markov Decision Processes (MDPs), along with dynamic programming (value and policy iteration) for discounted, average, and total reward performance metrics

· An in-depth consideration of dynamic simulation optimization via temporal differences and Reinforcement Learning: Q-Learning, SARSA, and R-SMART algorithms, and policy search, via API, Q-P-Learning, actor-critics, and learning automata

· A special examination of neural-network-based function approximation for Reinforcement Learning, semi-Markov decision processes (SMDPs), finite-horizon problems, two time scales, case studies for industrial tasks, computer codes (placed online) and convergence proofs, via Banach fixed point theory and Ordinary Differential Equations

Themed around three areas in separate sets of chapters – Static Simulation Optimization, Reinforcement Learning and Convergence Analysis – this book is written for researchers and students in the fields of engineering (industrial, systems, electrical and computer), operations research, computer science and applied mathematics.

This book offers an introduction to differential geometry for the non-specialist. It includes most of the required material from multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and basic analysis. An intuitive approach and a minimum of prerequisites make it a valuable companion for students of mathematics and physics.

The main focus is on manifolds in Euclidean space and the metric properties they inherit from it. Among the topics discussed are curvature and how it affects the shape of space, and the generalization of the fundamental theorem of calculus known as Stokes' theorem.

This book provides a practical guide to molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulation techniques used in the modelling of simple and complex liquids. Computer simulation is an essential tool in studying the chemistry and physics of condensed matter, complementing and reinforcing both experiment and theory. Simulations provide detailed information about structure and dynamics, essential to understand the many fluid systems that play a key role in our daily lives: polymers, gels, colloidal suspensions, liquid crystals, biological membranes, and glasses. The second edition of this pioneering book aims to explain how simulation programs work, how to use them, and how to interpret the results, with examples of the latest research in this rapidly evolving field. Accompanying programs in Fortran and Python provide practical, hands-on, illustrations of the ideas in the text.

A focused guide for healthcare simulation operations in education and training

With the growing use of simulation within the field of healthcare, Healthcare Simulation: A Guide for Operations Specialists provides a much needed resource for developing the roles and responsibilities of simulation operations specialists. The book illustrates the current state and evolution of the simulation professional workforce and discusses the topics necessary for the development of these pivotal roles.

The book promotes the value of simulation-based education in healthcare and its associated outcomes while clarifying the operational requirements of successful simulations. Featuring numerous contributions from international experts, consultants, and specialists, Healthcare Simulation: A Guide for Operations Specialists presents advances in healthcare simulation techniques and also features:

Coverage of the best practices and available technologies for healthcare simulation operations specialists within healthcare education, training, and assessmentInterdisciplinary, practical examples throughout to help readers better understand the presented materialAn overview of the many facets of day-to-day operations within a healthcare simulation programDiscussions regarding the concurrent need for understanding proper patient care that accompanies the human-to-machine interface in patient simulation

Healthcare Simulation: A Guide for Operations Specialists is an excellent reference for healthcare simulation professionals including administrators, medical directors, managers, simulation technologists, faculty members, and educators in academic and healthcare settings. The book is also a useful supplementary textbook for graduate-level courses related to simulation and certificate programs in simulation education and simulation operations.

This book focuses on the core question of the necessary architectural support provided by hardware to efficiently run virtual machines, and of the corresponding design of the hypervisors that run them. Virtualization is still possible when the instruction set architecture lacks such support, but the hypervisor remains more complex and must rely on additional techniques.

Despite the focus on architectural support in current architectures, some historical perspective is necessary to appropriately frame the problem. The first half of the book provides the historical perspective of the theoretical framework developed four decades ago by Popek and Goldberg. It also describes earlier systems that enabled virtualization despite the lack of architectural support in hardware.

As is often the case, theory defines a necessary—but not sufficient—set of features, and modern architectures are the result of the combination of the theoretical framework with insights derived from practical systems. The second half of the book describes state-of-the-art support for virtualization in both x86-64 and ARM processors. This book includes an in-depth description of the CPU, memory, and I/O virtualization of these two processor architectures, as well as case studies on the Linux/KVM, VMware, and Xen hypervisors. It concludes with a performance comparison of virtualization on current-generation x86- and ARM-based systems across multiple hypervisors.

Good game design happens when you view your game from as many perspectives as possible. Written by one of the world's top game designers, The Art of Game Design presents 100+ sets of questions, or different lenses, for viewing a game’s design, encompassing diverse fields such as psychology, architecture, music, visual design, film, software engineering, theme park design, mathematics, puzzle design, and anthropology. This Second Edition of a Game Developer Front Line Award winner: Describes the deepest and most fundamental principles of game design Demonstrates how tactics used in board, card, and athletic games also work in top-quality video games Contains valuable insight from Jesse Schell, the former chair of the International Game Developers Association and award-winning designer of Disney online games

The Art of Game Design, Second Edition gives readers useful perspectives on how to make better game designs faster. It provides practical instruction on creating world-class games that will be played again and again.

The present AutoCAD reference guide is, basically, an extension of our teaching, training and working experience in the CAD (Computer Aided Design) field and covers only ~200 commands of AutoCAD. In a productivity war, not only fewer weapons (tools and commands) force us to imbibe the defeat, but more than enough weapons are also suicidal (because we have less time for selection of weapon, too). So a compromising balance has been tried to achieve the optimum.

The available average good books on AutoCAD are horribly containing 2-3 thousands of pages for main text, with dozens of pages, only for their contents. All these mess is full of unnecessary details of even very simpler commands, which user can easily learn intuitively. Even after the bulk of pages they skip some really useful commands, which could otherwise boost the productivity of end user. 

While this reference guide is intended to provide a compact guide of AutoCAD to a wide range of working CAD professionals and students, ranging from engineering streams (architectural, civil, mechanical, electrical, etc.) to non-technical streams. We are relying heavily on the AutoCAD’s user friendly interface while writing the reference guide, as after entering the command alias in AutoCAD, it,  itself, tells ‘n asks for minimum ‘n necessary details through command line. So, practically, there is no need of written procedural details.

As this reference guide book is complimentary with the ‘AutoCAD-Advanced’ and ‘AutoCAD-Professional’ courses of ‘4Dimensions’, most commands given in this guide need at least one time lab training on real projects by an experienced tutor/professional. Each command, once mastered, doesn’t need the whole procedure to be remembered exactly (as different versions may have different procedures).

Content Development Team

4 Dimensions

This is the first comprehensive book on information geometry, written by the founder of the field. It begins with an elementary introduction to dualistic geometry and proceeds to a wide range of applications, covering information science, engineering, and neuroscience. It consists of four parts, which on the whole can be read independently. A manifold with a divergence function is first introduced, leading directly to dualistic structure, the heart of information geometry. This part (Part I) can be apprehended without any knowledge of differential geometry. An intuitive explanation of modern differential geometry then follows in Part II, although the book is for the most part understandable without modern differential geometry. Information geometry of statistical inference, including time series analysis and semiparametric estimation (the Neyman–Scott problem), is demonstrated concisely in Part III. Applications addressed in Part IV include hot current topics in machine learning, signal processing, optimization, and neural networks. The book is interdisciplinary, connecting mathematics, information sciences, physics, and neurosciences, inviting readers to a new world of information and geometry. This book is highly recommended to graduate students and researchers who seek new mathematical methods and tools useful in their own fields.

Discrete differential geometry is an active mathematical terrain where differential geometry and discrete geometry meet and interact. It provides discrete equivalents of the geometric notions and methods of differential geometry, such as notions of curvature and integrability for polyhedral surfaces. Current progress in this field is to a large extent stimulated by its relevance for computer graphics and mathematical physics. This collection of essays, which documents the main lectures of the 2004 Oberwolfach Seminar on the topic, as well as a number of additional contributions by key participants, gives a lively, multi-facetted introduction to this emerging field.

A project-based book that deals with Adobe Audition (formerly Cool Edit Pro), included in the Adobe Video Collection, this guide explores creating soundtracks for digital video and demonstrates how to use the software to start recording, editing, and producing immediately. Examined are how to edit, mix, and add built-in effects to AVI soundtracks while watching movie playback, how to clean up poor quality audio with powerful noise reduction tools, and how to use sound effects such as sweetening and mixing. Recording engineers will learn how to customize Audition, record multitrack sessions, transform the multitrack mix into a stereo or surround-sound experience, edit audio files using sample-accurate tools, and mix up to 128 tracks of audio. Working with powerful DSP and analysis tools including DirectX effects is covered, as is importing audio (WAV) files from Adobe Audition into projects created with Adobe Premiere Pro or Adobe After Effects.

The SketchUp to LayOut book is the essential guide for woodworkers, carpenters, architects, contractors, builders, and designers who already know the basics on how to use SketchUp, but are looking to create stunning presentations to visualize their ideas with their clients using LayOut.Learn the workflow for creating models specifically for LayOut

Before you even begin modeling that first rectangle, you'll need to fully understand which type of model you should be building for LayOut. Don't make the mistake of creating twice the amount of work for yourself because you didn't properly organize your model ahead of time.

I'll teach you how to save time and frustration by organizing your model so YOU are in control of how your model viewports look.

The entire first half of the book is dedicated to preparing your model for LayOut. From organizational workflow, to scenes and styles. I share with you my 5 point method I use to visualize and prepare every scene I create for LayOut.

Not only will you understand exactly what those five points are, you'll learn multiple ways to control them. Using these methods, you will gain complete control over the look of your viewports in LayOut. You will master every aspect of a SketchUp scene and style, to enable you to create impressive presentations and drawings in the least amount of time possible.

Is this too advanced for me?

This book is designed for construction professionals who don't have any prior experience in LayOut at all. But it's also structured in a way that lets you look up specific tasks or methods without having to read the book cover to cover. I’ll save you all the time and frustration that I went through when I first learned LayOut by quickly orienting you with the workspace, then jumping right in to creating your own titleblock, inserting SketchUp models, and adding dimensions.

You should have some basic knowledge on how to use SketchUp. But if you're just starting out, you'll have complete access to my entire library of tutorials and videos for free on my website to bring you up to speed quickly.

Every important aspect of LayOut is explained in the book, with step by step instructions for you to follow along. Learn exactly what you need to know and skip over all the little details you don’t need to worry about. The book has been updated for 2014 so you'll even learn about the new Auto-Text tag feature, saving you a ton of time on those redundant text edits.

You’ll see REAL examples

The sample projects in the book are real projects, not hypothetical meaningless shapes and boxes, so you can see exactly how to apply the concepts you learn in context with the real world. Plus, the SketchUp and LayOut files are included with each book download so you’ll be able to follow along and discover for yourself how to organize a similar project of your own. The sample projects include a woodworking table project, akitchen project, and a three story house project.

At the same time, each step by step instruction can be read and followed independently from the project. So if you need to go back and reference a certain part of the book to learn how to do something specific, you'll be able to do that too.

Advanced Techniques

I’ve consulted with many of the best SketchUp gurus in the world! I’ve hung out with Nick Sonder at the SketchUp basecamp conference. I’ve interviewed Aidan Chopra, SketchUp evangelist and author of “Google SketchUp for Dummies”, Eric Schimelpfenig from SketchThis.net, and Alexander Schreyer, author of “Architectural Design with SketchUp”. I’ve also consulted with Mike Brightman, author of “The SketchUp Workflow for Architecture”, Daniel Tal, author of “Rendering In SketchUp”, and many other great SketchUp experts.

John Vince explains a wide range of mathematical techniques and problem-solving strategies associated with computer games, computer animation, virtual reality, CAD, and other areas of computer graphics.

Covering all the mathematical techniques required to resolve geometric problems and design computer programs for computer graphic applications, each chapter explores a specific mathematical topic prior to moving forward into the more advanced areas of matrix transforms, 3D curves and surface patches. Problem-solving techniques using vector analysis and geometric algebra are also discussed.

All the key areas are covered including: Numbers, Algebra, Trigonometry, Coordinate geometry, Transforms, Vectors, Curves and surfaces, Barycentric coordinates, Analytic geometry.

Plus – and unusually in a student textbook – a chapter on geometric algebra is included.

This practical and easy-to-understand learning tutorial is one big exciting exercise for students and engineers that are always short on their schedules and want to regain some lost time with the help of Simulink.This book is aimed at students and engineers who need a quick start with Simulink. Though it's not required in order to understand how Simulink works, knowledge of physics will help the reader to understand the exercises described.

This video book will quickly teach you what every photographer needs to know about Photoshop CC, including:

 * Removing blemishes and distractions

 * Creating amazing, natural-looking portraits

 * Changing the color of clothing and hair

 * Changing the shape of bodies and objects

 * Using layers, adjustment layers, and masks

 * Replacing skies and backgrounds

 * Straightening lines and buildings

 * Compositing multiple images together

 * Changing facial expressions and poses

 * Creating complex selections and masks

 * Creating panoramas

 * Creating actions to automate tasks

 * Choosing the best image formats

 * Customizing and configuring Photoshop CC

Tony & Chelsea go beyond teaching you how to use Photoshop; they teach you why and when to use each feature to create stunning, natural images. When Photoshop isn’t the best tool, they suggest other alternatives.

Combining the benefits of video training and book learning, this video book gives you over 10 hours of video and dozens of images to practice with. If you learn better with video, watch the video training and refer to the book for quick reference. For best results, walk through each procedure in the book using the provided sample images. Then, watch the videos to learn more advanced and artistic techniques. If you still have questions, or want peer review, join our Photoshop group on Facebook and get feedback from other Photoshop users.

Tony and Chelsea cover every aspect of Photoshop in-depth, but structure their teaching so that both beginner and advanced photographers can learn as efficiently as possible. If you just want a quick start, you can watch the first video or read the first chapter and you'll know the basics of photo editing in less than an hour. If you want to know more about a specific feature, switch to that video or jump to that chapter in the ebook. If you want to know everything about Photoshop, watch the videos and read the book from start to finish. 

This book is a practical guide for theory-based empirical analysis in economics that guides the reader through the first steps when moving between economic theory and applied research. The book provides a hands-on introduction to some of the techniques that economists use for econometric estimation and shows how to convert a selection of standard and advanced estimators into MATLAB code. The book first provides a brief introduction to MATLAB and its syntax, before moving into microeconometric applications studied in undergraduate and graduate econometrics courses. Along with standard estimation methods such as, for example, Method of Moments, Maximum Likelihood, and constrained optimisation, the book also includes a series of chapters examining more advanced research methods. These include discrete choice, discrete games, dynamic models on a finite and infinite horizon, and semi- and nonparametric methods. In closing, it discusses more advanced features that can be used to optimise use of MATLAB, including parallel computing. Each chapter is structured around a number of worked examples, designed for the reader to tackle as they move through the book. Each chapter ends with a series of readings, questions, and extensions, designed to help the reader on their way to adapting the examples in the book to fit their own research questions.

The link between the physical world and its visualization is geometry. This easy-to-read, generously illustrated textbook presents an elementary introduction to differential geometry with emphasis on geometric results. Avoiding formalism as much as possible, the author harnesses basic mathematical skills in analysis and linear algebra to solve interesting geometric problems, which prepare students for more advanced study in mathematics and other scientific fields such as physics and computer science. The wide range of topics includes curve theory, a detailed study of surfaces, curvature, variation of area and minimal surfaces, geodesics, spherical and hyperbolic geometry, the divergence theorem, triangulations, and the Gauss–Bonnet theorem. The section on cartography demonstrates the concrete importance of elementary differential geometry in applications. Clearly developed arguments and proofs, colour illustrations, and over 100 exercises and solutions make this book ideal for courses and self-study. The only prerequisites are one year of undergraduate calculus and linear algebra.

Harness the power of Unity 5 tools to write shaders and create stunning effects for next generation gamesAbout This BookLeverage the power of Unity 5 compatible shaders to create a variety of realistic surfacesCreate amazing visual effects for your Unity 5.x games by blending advanced post-processing techniques and lighting effectsAdd that extra visual edge to your games by learning pro level techniquesWho This Book Is For

This book is for users who are familiar with creating Unity projects and are looking for the next step to create stunning high-end visuals in their game project using the latest tools and features. You are expected to understand the creation of basic Unity projects, game object types, and scene navigation. You will need some basic programming experience in C# or JavaScript.

What You Will LearnBuild your own custom shaders to suit a variety of organic and inorganic surfacesCreate amazing visual effects using Unity 5's improved toolsetCompare the advantages of Metallic and Specular workflows in Unity's Physically Based Lighting SystemTake your Unity 5 project to the next level with advanced real-time and baked lighting methodsDesign powerful particle effectsFind out how shaders, materials, and scripts work together within the Unity frameworkDevelop high-end and optimized game visuals suitable for mobile devices and other platformsIn Detail

With the inclusion of Physically Based Shading and the Standard Shader, Unity has changed the game for independent and large scale developers alike. Never before has it been so easy to create startling high quality visuals in games and other interactive projects.

This book will give you a solid understanding of the interaction of shaders, lighting and effects in Unity 5, and give you some great ideas for how you can maximize the visual impact of your own games for PC, mobile and other platforms. In the sequence of chapters you will find solutions to some of the major challenges to the creation of responsive and realistic looking games.

As you work on example scenes, you will get to know the syntax of ShaderLab and CG languages, creating simple and complex shader solutions for a variety of different surface effects. You will see how Unity's responsive lighting solutions can be harnessed to build immersive and appealing game experiences.

Style and approach

This is the most up-to-date resource on creating amazing visual effects for your Unity 5.x games. With the perfect mix of advanced techniques and their illustrations in real-world examples, this is the most comprehensive advanced guide on Unity shaders and effects you'll find.

Providing a systematic introduction to differential characters as introduced by Cheeger and Simons, this text describes important concepts such as fiber integration, higher dimensional holonomy, transgression, and the product structure in a geometric manner. Differential characters form a model of what is nowadays called differential cohomology, which is the mathematical structure behind the higher gauge theories in physics.

The modern subject of differential forms subsumes classical vector calculus. This text presents differential forms from a geometric perspective accessible at the sophomore undergraduate level. The book begins with basic concepts such as partial differentiation and multiple integration and gently develops the entire machinery of differential forms. The author approaches the subject with the idea that complex concepts can be built up by analogy from simpler cases, which, being inherently geometric, often can be best understood visually.

Each new concept is presented with a natural picture that students can easily grasp. Algebraic properties then follow. This facilitates the development of differential forms without assuming a background in linear algebra. Throughout the text, emphasis is placed on applications in 3 dimensions, but all definitions are given so as to be easily generalized to higher dimensions. A centerpiece of the text is the generalized Stokes' theorem. Although this theorem implies all of the classical integral theorems of vector calculus, it is far easier for students to both comprehend and remember.

The text is designed to support three distinct course tracks: the first as the primary textbook for third semester (multivariable) calculus, suitable for anyone with a year of calculus; the second is aimed at students enrolled in sophomore-level vector calculus; while the third targets advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students in physics or mathematics, covering more advanced topics such as Maxwell's equations, foliation theory, and cohomology.

Containing excellent motivation, numerous illustrations and solutions to selected problems in an appendix, the material has been tested in the classroom along all three potential course tracks.

A focused guide for healthcare simulation operations in education and training

With the growing use of simulation within the field of healthcare, Healthcare Simulation: A Guide for Operations Specialists provides a much needed resource for developing the roles and responsibilities of simulation operations specialists. The book illustrates the current state and evolution of the simulation professional workforce and discusses the topics necessary for the development of these pivotal roles.

The book promotes the value of simulation-based education in healthcare and its associated outcomes while clarifying the operational requirements of successful simulations. Featuring numerous contributions from international experts, consultants, and specialists, Healthcare Simulation: A Guide for Operations Specialists presents advances in healthcare simulation techniques and also features:

Coverage of the best practices and available technologies for healthcare simulation operations specialists within healthcare education, training, and assessmentInterdisciplinary, practical examples throughout to help readers better understand the presented materialAn overview of the many facets of day-to-day operations within a healthcare simulation programDiscussions regarding the concurrent need for understanding proper patient care that accompanies the human-to-machine interface in patient simulation

Healthcare Simulation: A Guide for Operations Specialists is an excellent reference for healthcare simulation professionals including administrators, medical directors, managers, simulation technologists, faculty members, and educators in academic and healthcare settings. The book is also a useful supplementary textbook for graduate-level courses related to simulation and certificate programs in simulation education and simulation operations.

This book provides an introduction to the use of geometric partial differential equations in image processing and computer vision. This research area brings a number of new concepts into the field, providing a very fundamental and formal approach to image processing. State-of-the-art practical results in a large number of real problems are achieved with the techniques described in this book. Applications covered include image segmentation, shape analysis, image enhancement, and tracking. This book will be a useful resource for researchers and practitioners. It is intended to provide information for people investigating new solutions to image processing problems as well as for people searching for existent advanced solutions.

This book strives to provide a concise introduction to computational engineering by introducing a wider range of numerical methods commonly used in computational modelling and scientific computing. These methods in-clude finite difference methods, finite volume methods, finite element methods, virtual bee algorithms, and cellu-lar automata. It also covers a wide spectrum of advanced topics in engineering applications, and these advanced topics include elasticity, heat conduction, reaction-diffusion system, optimisation, stochastic cellular auto-mata, combustion, consolidation, heat transfer of carbon nanotubes, and pattern formation. The accompanied concise Matlab programs, no more than 100 lines each, demonstrate how each numeri-cal method works. The animation and visualization of the results provide a first hand experience to the readers, es-pecially for undergraduates and graduates, to master the fundamentals of the numerical methods. These Matlab programs can also be modified

This book is a practical guide for theory-based empirical analysis in economics that guides the reader through the first steps when moving between economic theory and applied research. The book provides a hands-on introduction to some of the techniques that economists use for econometric estimation and shows how to convert a selection of standard and advanced estimators into MATLAB code. The book first provides a brief introduction to MATLAB and its syntax, before moving into microeconometric applications studied in undergraduate and graduate econometrics courses. Along with standard estimation methods such as, for example, Method of Moments, Maximum Likelihood, and constrained optimisation, the book also includes a series of chapters examining more advanced research methods. These include discrete choice, discrete games, dynamic models on a finite and infinite horizon, and semi- and nonparametric methods. In closing, it discusses more advanced features that can be used to optimise use of MATLAB, including parallel computing. Each chapter is structured around a number of worked examples, designed for the reader to tackle as they move through the book. Each chapter ends with a series of readings, questions, and extensions, designed to help the reader on their way to adapting the examples in the book to fit their own research questions.

Differential geometry began as the study of curves and surfaces using the methods of calculus. In time, the notions of curve and surface were generalized along with associated notions such as length, volume, and curvature. At the same time the topic has become closely allied with developments in topology. The basic object is a smooth manifold, to which some extra structure has been attached, such as a Riemannian metric, a symplectic form, a distinguished group of symmetries, or a connection on the tangent bundle. This book is a graduate-level introduction to the tools and structures of modern differential geometry. Included are the topics usually found in a course on differentiable manifolds, such as vector bundles, tensors, differential forms, de Rham cohomology, the Frobenius theorem and basic Lie group theory. The book also contains material on the general theory of connections on vector bundles and an in-depth chapter on semi-Riemannian geometry that covers basic material about Riemannian manifolds and Lorentz manifolds. An unusual feature of the book is the inclusion of an early chapter on the differential geometry of hyper-surfaces in Euclidean space. There is also a section that derives the exterior calculus version of Maxwell's equations. The first chapters of the book are suitable for a one-semester course on manifolds. There is more than enough material for a year-long course on manifolds and geometry.

An explanation of the mathematics needed as a foundation for a deep understanding of general relativity or quantum field theory.

Physics is naturally expressed in mathematical language. Students new to the subject must simultaneously learn an idiomatic mathematical language and the content that is expressed in that language. It is as if they were asked to read Les Misérables while struggling with French grammar. This book offers an innovative way to learn the differential geometry needed as a foundation for a deep understanding of general relativity or quantum field theory as taught at the college level.

The approach taken by the authors (and used in their classes at MIT for many years) differs from the conventional one in several ways, including an emphasis on the development of the covariant derivative and an avoidance of the use of traditional index notation for tensors in favor of a semantically richer language of vector fields and differential forms. But the biggest single difference is the authors' integration of computer programming into their explanations. By programming a computer to interpret a formula, the student soon learns whether or not a formula is correct. Students are led to improve their program, and as a result improve their understanding.

This small book started a profound revolution in the development of mathematical physics, one which has reached many working physicists already, and which stands poised to bring about far-reaching change in the future.

At its heart is the use of Clifford algebra to unify otherwise disparate mathematical languages, particularly those of spinors, quaternions, tensors and differential forms. It provides a unified approach covering all these areas and thus leads to a very efficient ‘toolkit’ for use in physical problems including quantum mechanics, classical mechanics, electromagnetism and relativity (both special and general) – only one mathematical system needs to be learned and understood, and one can use it at levels which extend right through to current research topics in each of these areas.

These same techniques, in the form of the ‘Geometric Algebra’, can be applied in many areas of engineering, robotics and computer science, with no changes necessary – it is the same underlying mathematics, and enables physicists to understand topics in engineering, and engineers to understand topics in physics (including aspects in frontier areas), in a way which no other single mathematical system could hope to make possible.

There is another aspect to Geometric Algebra, which is less tangible, and goes beyond questions of mathematical power and range. This is the remarkable insight it gives to physical problems, and the way it constantly suggests new features of the physics itself, not just the mathematics. Examples of this are peppered throughout ‘Space-Time Algebra’, despite its short length, and some of them are effectively still research topics for the future.

From the Foreward by Anthony Lasenby

Written as a practical, step-by-step tutorial, this book is full of engaging examples to help you learn in a practical context.This book is for game developers or anyone who wants to learn how to fully utilize the PhysX Physics Engine quickly and efficiently. You don’t have to be a die-hard programmer to get started with this book. Basic knowledge of C++, 3D mathematics, and OpenGL is all you need.

This 1994 book introduces the tools of modern differential geometry, exterior calculus, manifolds, vector bundles and connections, to advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students in mathematics, physics and engineering. The book covers both classical surface theory and the modern theory of connections and curvature, and includes a chapter on applications to theoretical physics. The only prerequisites are multivariate calculus and linear algebra; no knowledge of topology is assumed. The powerful and concise calculus of differential forms is used throughout. Through the use of numerous concrete examples, the author develops computational skills in the familiar Euclidean context before exposing the reader to the more abstract setting of manifolds. There are nearly 200 exercises, making the book ideal for both classroom use and self-study.

Thisbookisdesignedasatextbookforaone-quarterorone-semestergr- uate course on Riemannian geometry, for students who are familiar with topological and di?erentiable manifolds. It focuses on developing an in- mate acquaintance with the geometric meaning of curvature. In so doing, it introduces and demonstrates the uses of all the main technical tools needed for a careful study of Riemannian manifolds. I have selected a set of topics that can reasonably be covered in ten to ?fteen weeks, instead of making any attempt to provide an encyclopedic treatment of the subject. The book begins with a careful treatment of the machineryofmetrics,connections,andgeodesics,withoutwhichonecannot claim to be doing Riemannian geometry. It then introduces the Riemann curvature tensor, and quickly moves on to submanifold theory in order to give the curvature tensor a concrete quantitative interpretation. From then on, all e?orts are bent toward proving the four most fundamental theorems relating curvature and topology: the Gauss–Bonnet theorem (expressing thetotalcurvatureofasurfaceintermsofitstopologicaltype),theCartan– Hadamard theorem (restricting the topology of manifolds of nonpositive curvature), Bonnet’s theorem (giving analogous restrictions on manifolds of strictly positive curvature), and a special case of the Cartan–Ambrose– Hicks theorem (characterizing manifolds of constant curvature). Many other results and techniques might reasonably claim a place in an introductory Riemannian geometry course, but could not be included due to time constraints.

A representation is a thing that can be interpreted as providing information about something: a map, or a graph, for example. This book is about the expanding world of computational representations, representations that use the power of computation to provide information in new forms, and in new ways. Unlike printed maps or graphs, computational representations can be dynamic, and even interactive, so that what is represented, and how, can be shaped by user actions. Exploring these new possibilities can be guided by an emerging theory of representation, that clarifies what characteristics representations must have to express the meaning being represented, and to enable users to discern that meaning easily and accurately. The theory also shows the way to inclusive design, for example using sounds to represent information commonly presented visually, so that people who cannot see can understand what is being presented. Because representations must be shaped by the abilities of their users, and by the nature of the meanings they convey, creating them requires perspectives from multiple disciplines, including psychology, as well as computer science, and the sciences appropriate to the content being expressed. The book presents a series of explorations of this large and complicated space, as invitations to further study, and to innovation.

Fundamentals of Numerical Computation is an advanced undergraduate-level introduction to the mathematics and use of algorithms for the fundamental problems of numerical computation: linear algebra, finding roots, approximating data and functions, and solving differential equations. The book is organized with simpler methods in the first half and more advanced methods in the second half, allowing use for either a single course or a sequence of two courses. The authors take readers from basic to advanced methods, illustrating them with over 200 self-contained MATLAB functions and examples designed for those with no prior MATLAB experience. Although the text provides many examples, exercises, and illustrations, the aim of the authors is not to provide a cookbook per se, but rather an exploration of the principles of cooking.

The authors have developed an online resource that includes well-tested materials related to every chapter. Among these materials are lecture-related slides and videos, ideas for student projects, laboratory exercises, computational examples and scripts, and all the functions presented in the book.

The book is intended for advanced undergraduates in math, applied math, engineering, or science disciplines, as well as for researchers and professionals looking for an introduction to a subject they missed or overlooked in their education.

This textbook is aimed at computer science undergraduates late in sophomore or early in junior year, supplying a comprehensive background in qualitative and quantitative data analysis, probability, random variables, and statistical methods, including machine learning.

With careful treatment of topics that fill the curricular needs for the course, Probability and Statistics for Computer Science features:

• A treatment of random variables and expectations dealing primarily with the discrete case.

• A practical treatment of simulation, showing how many interesting probabilities and expectations can be extracted, with particular emphasis on Markov chains.

• A clear but crisp account of simple point inference strategies (maximum likelihood; Bayesian inference) in simple contexts. This is extended to cover some confidence intervals, samples and populations for random sampling with replacement, and the simplest hypothesis testing.

• A chapter dealing with classification, explaining why it’s useful; how to train SVM classifiers with stochastic gradient descent; and how to use implementations of more advanced methods such as random forests and nearest neighbors.

• A chapter dealing with regression, explaining how to set up, use and understand linear regression and nearest neighbors regression in practical problems.

• A chapter dealing with principal components analysis, developing intuition carefully, and including numerous practical examples. There is a brief description of multivariate scaling via principal coordinate analysis.

• A chapter dealing with clustering via agglomerative methods and k-means, showing how to build vector quantized features for complex signals.

Illustrated throughout, each main chapter includes many worked examples and other pedagogical elements such as

boxed Procedures, Definitions, Useful Facts, and Remember This (short tips). Problems and Programming Exercises are at the end of each chapter, with a summary of what the reader should know.

Instructor resources include a full set of model solutions for all problems, and an Instructor's Manual with accompanying presentation slides.

Differential Geometry is a wide field. We have chosen to concentrate upon certain aspects that are appropriate for an introduction to the subject; we have not attempted an encyclopedic treatment. Book II deals with more advanced material than Book I and is aimed at the graduate level. Chapter 4 deals with additional topics in Riemannian geometry. Properties of real analytic curves given by a single ODE and of surfaces given by a pair of ODEs are studied, and the volume of geodesic balls is treated. An introduction to both holomorphic and Kähler geometry is given. In Chapter 5, the basic properties of de Rham cohomology are discussed, the Hodge Decomposition Theorem, Poincaré duality, and the Künneth formula are proved, and a brief introduction to the theory of characteristic classes is given. In Chapter 6, Lie groups and Lie algebras are dealt with. The exponential map, the classical groups, and geodesics in the context of a bi-invariant metric are discussed. The de Rham cohomology of compact Lie groups and the Peter--Weyl Theorem are treated. In Chapter 7, material concerning homogeneous spaces and symmetric spaces is presented. Book II concludes in Chapter 8 where the relationship between simplicial cohomology, singular cohomology, sheaf cohomology, and de Rham cohomology is established. We have given some different proofs than those that are classically given and there is some new material in these volumes. For example, the treatment of the total curvature and length of curves given by a single ODE is new as is the discussion of the total Gaussian curvature of a surface defined by a pair of ODEs.

Differential Geometry is a wide field. We have chosen to concentrate upon certain aspects that are appropriate for an introduction to the subject; we have not attempted an encyclopedic treatment. Book III is aimed at the first-year graduate level but is certainly accessible to advanced undergraduates. It deals with invariance theory and discusses invariants both of Weyl and not of Weyl type; the Chern‒Gauss‒Bonnet formula is treated from this point of view. Homothety homogeneity, local homogeneity, stability theorems, and Walker geometry are discussed. Ricci solitons are presented in the contexts of Riemannian, Lorentzian, and affine geometry.

Differential Geometry is a wide field. We have chosen to concentrate upon certain aspects that are appropriate for an introduction to the subject; we have not attempted an encyclopedic treatment. In Book I, we focus on preliminaries. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to multivariable calculus and treats the Inverse Function Theorem, Implicit Function Theorem, the theory of the Riemann Integral, and the Change of Variable Theorem. Chapter 2 treats smooth manifolds, the tangent and cotangent bundles, and Stokes' Theorem. Chapter 3 is an introduction to Riemannian geometry. The Levi-Civita connection is presented, geodesics introduced, the Jacobi operator is discussed, and the Gauss-Bonnet Theorem is proved. The material is appropriate for an undergraduate course in the subject. We have given some different proofs than those that are classically given and there is some new material in these volumes. For example, the treatment of the Chern-Gauss-Bonnet Theorem for pseudo-Riemannian manifolds with boundary is new.

To date, the most common form of simulators of computer systems are software-based running on standard computers. One promising approach to improve simulation performance is to apply hardware, specifically reconfigurable hardware in the form of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). This manuscript describes various approaches of using FPGAs to accelerate software-implemented simulation of computer systems and selected simulators that incorporate those techniques. More precisely, we describe a simulation architecture taxonomy that incorporates a simulation architecture specifically designed for FPGA accelerated simulation, survey the state-of-the-art in FPGA-accelerated simulation, and describe in detail selected instances of the described techniques. Table of Contents: Preface / Acknowledgments / Introduction / Simulator Background / Accelerating Computer System Simulators with FPGAs / Simulation Virtualization / Categorizing FPGA-based Simulators / Conclusion / Bibliography / Authors' Biographies

This volume presents novel computational models for representing digital humans and their interactions with other virtual characters and meaningful environments. In this context, we describe efficient algorithms to animate, control, and author human-like agents having their own set of unique capabilities, personalities, and desires. We begin with the lowest level of footstep determination to steer agents in collision-free paths. Steering choices are controlled by navigation in complex environments, including multi-domain planning with dynamically changing situations. Virtual agents are given perceptual capabilities analogous to those of real people, including sound perception, multi-sense attention, and understanding of environment semantics which affect their behavior choices. The roles and impacts of individual attributes, such as memory and personality are explored. The animation challenges of integrating a number of simultaneous behavior and movement demands on an agent are addressed through an open source software system. Finally, the creation of stories and narratives with groups of agents subject to planning and environmental constraints culminates the presentation.

This monograph explores the cohomological theory of manifolds with various sheaves and its application to differential geometry. Based on lectures given by author Izu Vaisman at Romania's University of Iasi, the treatment is suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students of mathematics as well as mathematical researchers in differential geometry, global analysis, and topology.
A self-contained development of cohomological theory constitutes the central part of the book. Topics include categories and functors, the Čech cohomology with coefficients in sheaves, the theory of fiber bundles, and differentiable, foliated, and complex analytic manifolds. The final chapter covers the theorems of de Rham and Dolbeault-Serre and examines the theorem of Allendoerfer and Eells, with applications of these theorems to characteristic classes and the general theory of harmonic forms.

Written for musicians of all skill levels, this reference is for a solid understanding of synthesizing and processing sound with your PC.

Riemannian geometry is characterized, and research is oriented towards and shaped by concepts (geodesics, connections, curvature,...) andobjectives,inparticularto understand certain classes of (compact) Riemannian manifolds de?ned by curvature conditions (constant or positive or negative curvature,...). Bywayofcontrast,g- metric analysis is a perhaps somewhat less systematic collection of techniques, for solving extremal problems naturally arising in geometry and for investigating and characterizing their solutions. It turns out that the two ?elds complement each other very well; geometric analysis o?ers tools for solving di?cult problems in geometry, and Riemannian geometry stimulates progress in geometric analysis by setting am- tious goals. It is the aim of this book to be a systematic and comprehensive introduction to Riemannian geometry and a representative introduction to the methods of geometric analysis. It attempts a synthesis of geometric and analytic methods in the study of Riemannian manifolds. The present work is the ?fth edition of my textbook on Riemannian geometry and geometric analysis. It has developed on the basis of several graduate courses I taught at the Ruhr-University Bochum and the University of Leipzig. The main new features of the present edition are the systematic inclusion of ?ow equations and a mathematical treatment of the nonlinear sigma model of quantum ?eld theory. These new topics also led to a systematic reorganization of the other material. Naturally, I have also included several smaller additions and minor corrections (for which I am grateful to several readers).

Fritzson covers the Modelica language in impressive depth from the basic concepts such as cyber-physical, equation-base, object-oriented, system, model, and simulation, while also incorporating over a hundred exercises and their solutions for a tutorial, easy-to-read experience.

The only book with complete Modelica 3.3 coverageOver one hundred exercises and solutionsExamines basic concepts such as cyber-physical, equation-based, object-oriented, system, model, and simulation

Beginner game developers are wonderfully optimistic, passionate, and ambitious. But that ambition is often dangerous! Too often, budding indie developers and hobbyists bite off more than they can chew. Some of the most popular games in recent memory – Doodle Jump, Paper Toss, and Canabalt, to name a few – have been fun, simple games that have delighted players and delivered big profits to their creators. This is the perfect climate for new game developers to succeed by creating simple games with Unity 3D, starting today.

This book starts you off on the right foot, emphasizing small, simple game ideas and playable projects that you can actually finish. The complexity of the games increases gradually as we progress through the chapters. The chosen examples help you learn a wide variety of game development techniques. With this understanding of Unity 3D and bite-sized bits of programming, you can make your own mark on the game industry by finishing fun, simple games.

This book shows you how to build crucial game elements that you can reuse and re-skin in many different games, using the phenomenal (and free!) Unity 3D game engine. It initiates you into indie game culture by teaching you how to make your own small, simple games using Unity3D and some gentle, easy-to-understand code. It will help you turn a rudimentary keep-up game into a madcap race through hospital hallways to rush a still-beating heart to the transplant ward, program a complete 2D game using Unity's User Interface controls, put a dramatic love story spin on a simple catch game, and turn that around into a classic space shooter with spectacular explosions and "pew" sounds! By the time you're finished, you'll have learned to develop a number of important pieces to create your own games that focus in on that small, singular piece of joy that makes games fun.

This book shoots straight for the heart of fun, simple game design and keeps shooting until you have all the pieces you need to assemble your own great games.

The papers in this volume are an outgrowth of the lectures and informal discussions that took place during the workshop on "The Geometry of Hamiltonian Systems" which was held at MSRl from June 5 to 16, 1989. It was, in some sense, the last major event of the year-long program on Symplectic Geometry and Mechanics. The emphasis of all the talks was on Hamiltonian dynamics and its relationship to several aspects of symplectic geometry and topology, mechanics, and dynamical systems in general. The organizers of the conference were R. Devaney (co-chairman), H. Flaschka (co-chairman), K. Meyer, and T. Ratiu. The entire meeting was built around two mini-courses of five lectures each and a series of two expository lectures. The first of the mini-courses was given by A. T. Fomenko, who presented the work of his group at Moscow University on the classification of integrable systems. The second mini course was given by J. Marsden of UC Berkeley, who spoke about several applications of symplectic and Poisson reduction to problems in stability, normal forms, and symmetric Hamiltonian bifurcation theory. Finally, the two expository talks were given by A. Fathi of the University of Florida who concentrated on the links between symplectic geometry, dynamical systems, and Teichmiiller theory.

This book contains the research on modeling bodies, cloth and character based adaptation performed during the last 3 years at MIRALab at the University of Geneva. More than ten researchers have worked together in order to reach a truly 3D Virtual Try On. What we mean by Virtual Try On is the possibility of anyone to give dimensions on her predefined body and obtain her own sized shape body, select a 3D cloth and see oneself animated in Real-Time, walking along a catwalk. Some systems exist today but are unable to adapt to body dimensions, have no real-time animation of body and clothes. A truly system on the web of Virtual Try On does not exist so far. This book is an attempt to explain how to build a 3D Virtual Try On system which is now very much in demand in the clothing industry. To describe this work, the book is divided into five chapters. The first chapter contains a brief historical background of general deformation methods. It ends with a section on the 3D human body scanner systems that are used both for rapid p- totyping and statistical analyses of the human body size variations.