Related papers: Second Life as a Platform for Physics Simulations …
Modeling the dynamic behavior of deformable objects is crucial for creating realistic digital worlds. While conventional simulations produce high-quality motions, their computational costs are often prohibitive. Subspace simulation…
In virtual worlds, objects fall straight down. By replacing a few lines of code to include Newton's gravity, virtual world software can become an N-body simulation code with visualization included where objects move under their mutual…
The field of robotics has made significant advances towards generalist robot manipulation policies. However, real-world evaluation of such policies is not scalable and faces reproducibility challenges, which are likely to worsen as policies…
We present Sim-on-Wheels, a safe, realistic, and vehicle-in-loop framework to test autonomous vehicles' performance in the real world under safety-critical scenarios. Sim-on-wheels runs on a self-driving vehicle operating in the physical…
Nowadays, computer simulations have reached amazing graphic results, providing awesome visual descriptions explaining the evolution of very complex physics phenomena, implementing the laws of Nature. Sometimes, without a scientific guide,…
In the half century since the 1950s computer simulation has transformed our understanding of physics. The rare, expensive, slow, and bulky mainframes of World War II have given way to today's millions of cheap, fast, desksized workstations…
We assess how physically realistic the ''simulation hypothesis'' for this Universe is, based on physical constraints arising from the link between information and energy, and on known astrophysical constraints. We investigate three cases:…
In living systems, we often see the emergence of the ingredients necessary for computation -- the capacity for information transmission, storage, and modification -- begging the question of how we may exploit or imitate such biological…
The physics laboratory-works creating and operating computer simulations experience is described. A significant amount of laboratory works can be classified as a "black box". The studied physical phenomenon is hidden from direct…
This philosophical paper explores the relation between modern scientific simulations and the future of the universe. We argue that a simulation of an entire universe will result from future scientific activity. This requires us to tackle…
There is no generally accepted definition for a virtual world, with many complimentary terms and acronyms having emerged implying a virtual world. Advances in systems architecture techniques such as, host migration of instances, mobile…
Excellent computer simulations are done for a purpose. The most valid purposes are to explore uncharted territory, to resolve a well-posed scientific or technical question, or to make a design choice. Stand-alone modeling can serve the…
This paper addresses policy challenges of complex virtual environments such as virtual worlds, social network sites, and massive multiplayer online games. The complexity of these environments--apparent by the rich user interactions and…
Technological advances are redefining the relationship between physical and virtual spaces. Traditionally, when users engage in virtual reality, they are completely cutoff from the physical space. Similarly, they are unable to access…
We present a study of student learning through the use of virtual reality. A software package is used to introduce concepts of special relativity to students in a game-like environment where users experience the effects of travelling at…
The quantum world is fascinating. It presents a description of nature that defies our most rooted concepts about what reality is. For example, quantum objects possess \lq\lq spooky\rq\rq\ properties that allow them to be in multiple places…
We present a comparative study of building with LEGO in three environments: the physical world, a Virtual Reality (VR) counterpart, and a VR setting enhanced with "superpowers". The study aims to understand how traditional creative hands-on…
Simulations inform all aspects of modern astrophysical research, ranging in scale from 1D and 2D test problems that can run in seconds on an astronomer's laptop all the way to large-scale 3D calculations that run on the largest…
So far life-long learning (LLL) has been studied in relatively small-scale and relatively artificial setups. Here, we introduce a new large-scale alternative. What makes the proposed setup more natural and closer to human-like visual…
Nature has found one method of organizing living matter, but maybe other options exist -- not yet discovered -- on how to create life. To study the life "as it could be" is the objective of an interdisciplinary field called Artificial Life…