Digital Mirrors Research Articles

Digital Mirrors: AI Companions and the Self

This exploratory study examines the socio-technical dynamics of Artificial Intelligence Companions (AICs), focusing on user interactions with AI platforms like Replika 9.35.1. Through qualitative analysis, including user interviews and digital ethnography, we explored the nuanced roles played by these AIs in social interactions. Findings revealed that users often form emotional attachments to their AICs, viewing them as empathetic and supportive, thus enhancing emotional well-being. This study highlights how AI companions provide a safe space for self-expression and identity exploration, often without fear of judgment, offering a backstage setting in Goffmanian terms. This research contributes to the discourse on AI’s societal integration, emphasizing how, in interactions with AICs, users often craft and experiment with their identities by acting in ways they would avoid in face-to-face or human-human online interactions due to fear of judgment. This reflects front-stage behavior, in which users manage audience perceptions. Conversely, the backstage, typically hidden, is somewhat disclosed to AICs, revealing deeper aspects of the self.

On-demand orbital angular momentum comb from a digital laser

Photonic orbital angular momentum (OAM) carried by phase-structured vortex light is an important and promising resource for the ever-increasing demand towards high-capacity data information due to its intrinsic unlimited dimensionality. Large superpositions of OAM are easy to be produced, but on-demand generation of arbitrary OAM spectra such as an OAM comb similar to a frequency comb is still a challenge; especially, the on-demand OAM comb and arbitrary multi-OAM modes have not yet been realized at the source. Here we report a versatile at-source strategy for developing a flexibly and dynamically switchable on-demand digital OAM comb laser for the first time, to our knowledge, by controlling the phase degree of freedom itself rather than any proxy. For this aim, we present a crucial design idea that a nested ring cavity configuration is composed of a degenerate cavity embedded into a stable ring cavity and a pair of conjugate two-fold symmetric multi-spiral-phase digital holographic mirrors loaded onto reflective phase-only spatial light modulators. In the nested ring cavity, the stable ring cavity and the degenerate cavity meet the requirements of high spatial coherence and supporting any transverse mode, respectively. The paired conjugate holographic mirrors located in mutual object and image planes circumvent the competing issue among different OAM modes and control the number and chirality of modes in OAM combs with ease. Our strategy has also universality as it has the ability of encoding OAM spectra with arbitrary distribution. The realization of a dynamic on-demand multi-OAM-mode laser is an important progress in the infancy of multi-OAM-mode sources. Our idea provides a promising solution for development of emerging high-dimensional technologies; in the future, there will be increasing opportunities in the fundamentals and applications of high-dimensional OAM modes, and beyond. Our strategy not only contributes to the development of new laser technology, but also provides a toolbox for both linear and nonlinear generation of the multiple OAM modes at the source.

Internet of things and deep learning based digital twins for diagnosis of brain tumor by analyzing MRI images

Although brain tumours are few, they have one of the highest mortality rates among all types of cancer due to their abnormal growth and proliferation. Brain tumours develop due to the accumulation of abnormal tissues in the brain. Various forms of abnormal tissue exist, however, in the majority of cases, they develop in a regular manner and perish without creating any detrimental effects. Digital twins are occasionally known as digital mirrors, digital mapping, and digital replicas. All of these are synonymous terms for the identical entity. It is a technique for transferring digital or physical information from one realm to another. Image processing involves enhancing or eliminating data from a photograph to achieve a certain objective. Convolutional neural networks are a specific type of neural network that take signals from images as input and produce the image itself or a subset of its elements as output. This research presents a technique for identifying brain cancers using digital replicas and advanced machine learning algorithms by analysing MRI images. Images obtained from MRI machines are stored in a centralised cloud using Internet of Things (IoT) digital devices. The input pictures and other health-related data are then retrieved from cloud storage. The Particle Swarm Optimization approach chooses features. Brain tumor images are classified using machine learning techniques such as convolutional neural networks, support vector machines, and extreme learning machines. The CNN algorithm demonstrates greater accuracy when assessing MRI images for the purpose of identifying brain tumours.

Retraction Note: Investigation of automotive digital mirrors ergonomics through laser shadowgraphy and driver’s real-road test questionnaire

Retraction Note: Investigation of automotive digital mirrors ergonomics through laser shadowgraphy and driver’s real-road test questionnaire

Comparison of Accommodation Speed and Reading Accuracy for Conventional and Digital Rear-View Mirrors with Emphasis on Overall Traffic Safety

Abstract The topic of this article is a comparison of the speed of accommodation and the reading accuracy of conventional and digital rear-view mirrors. The data for the research described in this article was obtained through laboratory measurements using precise measuring techniques on a medium-sized, relatively heterogeneous group of users, consisting mainly of university students and employees. In the experiment, all research participants performed a series of test tasks on two identical passenger vehicles, where one was equipped with conventional side mirrors, while the other had digital side mirrors installed. The main reason for carrying out this study is to try to imitate a common situation where the driver is forced to drive a car with these modern technologies in normal traffic and to understand the specific issues associated with the use of this technology. The speed of accommodation and reading accuracy is a very important parameter in this regard, which is also important for maximizing road traffic safety. The data obtained from this research was subsequently subjected to selected statistical analysis. Results confirmed statistically significant differences in the speed of accommodation when reading data from conventional and digital mirrors. It has been shown that the use of digital mirror technology can have a direct negative effect on road safety, especially in combination with other negative effects given by the technical nature of the technology under investigation, such as image latency in digital displays.

Compensation of emulated atmospheric disturbance and tracking of a moving object by a real-time digital phase conjugate mirror using a liquid crystal spatial light modulator

We developed a fast-response digital phase conjugate mirror using a 700 Hz high-speed liquid crystal spatial light modulator and a high-speed camera. The total delay from signal light acquisition to phase conjugate light generation was 9.7 ms at 1246 × 1024 and 5.9 ms at 640 × 512. The tracking experiment performed on a target moving at a constant distance perpendicular to the optical axis, produced an error of 2%. Furthermore, a heated soldering iron, used to compensate for artificially generated air disturbance, showed that beam wandering and intensity fluctuations were reduced by 86% and 55%, respectively, compared to a phase conjugate mirror with added delay. Phase conjugate light irradiation of a continuously moving target at a maximum speed of 0.9 mm s−1 was also performed. This study shows that real-time digital phase conjugate mirrors can correct wavefront distortion caused by air fluctuation, which is a major challenge in long-distance wireless optical transmission in the turbulent atmosphere, without complicated control, and prevent beam quality degradation in the presence of atmospheric disturbance.

A framework for cyber-physical production system management and digital twin feedback monitoring for fast failure recovery

ABSTRACT With the ongoing Industry 4.0 (I4.0) revolution, plant management and supervision play a key role in the development and (re-)design of industrial plants. In the arising scenarios, the need to coordinate human workers and autonomous systems, sharing the same environment, teaming together, becomes a fundamental requirement. Indeed, even though automation in standard assembly lines has reached high efficiency and reliability, for complex and new applications, a certain amount of failure must be considered for future addressing. This paper presents a framework for the flexible coordination of such a complex and heterogeneous cyber-physical system. A digital Ttwin mirrors in real-time the plant system, while a dashboard displays plant status, providing the human operators with fundamental tools for supervision and prompt intervention in case of failure. The framework was developed and tested in an industrially relevant environment, specifically for the assembly of the interior of an aircraft fuselage.

Digital phenotyping and data inheritance

Proponents of precision medicine envision that digital phenotyping can enable more individualized strategies to manage current and future health conditions. We problematize the interpretation of digital phenotypes as straightforward representations of individuals through examples of what we call data inheritance. Rather than being a digital copy of a presumed original, digital phenotypes are shaped by larger data collectives that precede and continuously change how the individual is represented. We contend that looking beyond the individual is crucial for understanding the factors that can ‘bend’ digital mirrors in specific directions. Since algorithms used for digital profiling are based on historical data, their predictions often inherit and increase the values and perspectives of past data practices. Moreover, the data legacies we leave behind today may return as so-called ‘data phantoms’ that conflict with the interests of the individual and contest who and what the ‘original’ is.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Investigation of automotive digital mirrors ergonomics through laser shadowgraphy and driver’s real-road test questionnaire

This paper studied the effect of replacing automotive reflection mirrors with digital mirrors (DM) on the driver’s safety and comfort. In this perspective, a new classification for DMs was proposed in appendance with a brief overview of driver’s visual ergonomics, associated with comparison and criticism of automotive DM design causality. Automotive laser shadowgraphy from car interior was performed to measure the obscuration in the driver’s direct field of view, due to the presence of DM displays at nine different obscuration positions. The driver’s off-road glances time toward DM displays was measured using a digital video recorder system. The eye glances of thirty drivers of different ages during different traffic conditions and their opinion about each display position through a simple questionnaire were statistically analyzed. Some pilot solutions were also proposed to reduce the expected drawbacks of such technology.

On generative models as the basis for digital twins

AbstractA framework is proposed for generative models as a basis fordigital twinsormirrorsof structures. The proposal is based on the premise that deterministic models cannot account for the uncertainty present in most structural modeling applications. Two different types of generative models are considered here. The first is a physics-based model based on the stochastic finite element (SFE) method, which is widely used when modeling structures that have material and loading uncertainties imposed. Such models can be calibrated according to data from the structure and would be expected to outperform any other model if the modeling accurately captures the true underlying physics of the structure. The potential use of SFE models as digital mirrors is illustrated via application to a linear structure with stochastic material properties. For situations where the physical formulation of such models does not suffice, a data-driven framework is proposed, using machine learning and conditional generative adversarial networks (cGANs). The latter algorithm is used to learn the distribution of the quantity of interest in a structure with material nonlinearities and uncertainties. For the examples considered in this work, the data-driven cGANs model outperforms the physics-based approach. Finally, an example is shown where the two methods are coupled such that a hybrid model approach is demonstrated.

On Digital Twins, Mirrors, and Virtualizations: Frameworks for Model Verification and Validation

Abstract A powerful new idea in the computational representation of structures is that of the digital twin. The concept of the digital twin emerged and developed over the last decade, and has been identified by many industries as a highly desired technology. The current situation is that individual companies often have their own definitions of a digital twin, and no clear consensus has emerged. In particular, there is no current mathematical formulation of a digital twin. A companion paper to the current one will attempt to present the essential components of the desired formulation. One of those components is identified as a rigorous representation theory of models; most importantly, governing how they are verified and validated, and how validation information can be transferred between models. Unlike its companion, which does not attempt detailed specification of any twin components, this paper will attempt to outline a rigorous representation theory of models, based on the introduction of two new concepts: mirrors and virtualizations. The paper is not intended as a passive wish list; it is intended as a rallying call. The new theory will require the active participation of researchers across a number of domains including: pure and applied mathematics, physics, computer science, and engineering. The paper outlines the main objects of the theory and gives examples of the sort of theorems and hypotheses that might be proved in the new framework.

Understanding the distraction and behavioural adaptations of drivers when experiencing failures of digital side mirrors

Digital mirrors within vehicles may improve aerodynamics and the field of view. Nevertheless, digital technology may fail. This study investigated the influences of different failures on distraction and behavioural adaptation, measured using glance and driving behaviour, as well as a workload questionnaire. Three failure conditions included a blank (no information), a degraded (hard to extract information), and a frozen (misleading information) display. In a high-fidelity simulator, 30 participants undertook three drives in a UK motorway scenario. During the second drive, the right (offside) digital mirror failed during the instruction to conduct a left–right lane-change manoeuvre, and remained until the end of that drive. Results show that failures led to longer and more glances towards the driver-side mirror, increased variability of speed and lateral position, and heightened workload; however, these distracting and behavioural effects lessened in future drives. Behavioural adaptations in the form of increased rear-view mirror or blind-spot checks could not be established. There were indications that the blanked mirror affected workload less than the other failures.

Smart Digital Mirror

Each day, human life becomes simpler and more time efficient. This research article discusses the smart digital mirror, which contributes to a more time-efficient life. The smart digital mirror is the extension of the simple mirror. Features of the simple mirror are enhanced with the help of new emerging technologies. Smart digital mirrors provide information such as time, date, day, weather forecast, reminders for important daily tasks, multimedia news, updates on the user’s health status, and recognition of the user’s emotion. The smart digital mirror is based on some artificial features such as recongnisation, analysis, learning, etc. It works on real-time systems. Raspberry Pi is a micro-controlar and a key part of the smart digital mirror. Essentially, the smart digital mirror recognizes the user based on image processing, and it uses its knowledge of the user to provide personal services. This can give the user enhanced comfort as it helps them feel prepared for their day and presents information and recommendations based on their preferences.. Various algorithms are used for the implementation of the smart digital mirror’s face emotion recognition. In the present study, we reviewed the previous smart mirror system along with various computations using Raspberry Pi.

From the ego to the alter ego – interacting with the self image through Neuro Mirror

Abstract In this article, we introduce our interactive art installation Neuro Mirror that was developed in 2017 for the Cybernetic Consciousness [?] exhibition that was held in 2017 at the ITAU Cultural in Sao Paulo. This artwork enables participants to interact with their own images and those of their alter egos with the help of digital mirrors. The installation consists of three screens. The middle one shows a live image of the participant that is somewhat distorted. The one on the left side also displays an image of the interacting person, but with a time delay of a few seconds. On the right screen, however, another person is shown – a young man, who is acting and moving his head. In fact, this person is programmed to be an avatar or an alter ego who reacts to the participant. He ‘learns’ new behaviours by observing and imitating the participant and reacts accordingly. A neural network programme was developed to enable him to predict the participant’s next actions from his previous ones.

Driving without wings: The effect of different digital mirror locations on the visual behaviour, performance and opinions of drivers

Drivers' awareness of the rearward road scene is critical when contemplating or executing lane-change manoeuvres, such as overtaking. Preliminary investigations have speculated on the use of rear-facing cameras to relay images to displays mounted inside the car to create ‘digital mirrors'. These may overcome many of the limitations associated with traditional ‘wing’ and rear-view mirrors, yet will inevitably effect drivers' normal visual scanning behaviour, and may force them to consider the rearward road scene from an unfamiliar perspective that is incongruent with their mental model of the outside world. We describe a study conducted within a medium-fidelity simulator aiming to explore the visual behaviour, driving performance and opinions of drivers while using internally located digital mirrors during different overtaking manoeuvres. Using a generic UK motorway scenario, thirty-eight experienced drivers conducted overtaking manoeuvres using each of five different layouts of digital mirrors with varying degrees of ‘real-world’ mapping. The results showed reductions in decision time for lane changes and eyes-off road time while using the digital mirrors, when compared with baseline traditional reflective mirrors, suggesting that digital displays may enable drivers to more rapidly pick up the salient information from the rearward road scene. Subjectively, drivers preferred configurations that most closely matched existing mirror locations, where aspects of real-world mapping were largely preserved. The research highlights important human factors issues that require further investigation prior to further development/implementation of digital mirrors within vehicles. Future work should also aim to validate findings within real-world on-road environments whilst considering the effects of digital mirrors on other important visual behaviour characteristics, such as depth perception.

Multi‐blocks scheme for high definition video display based on digital micro‐mirror device

The digital micro-mirror device (DMD) and its related techniques have been widely used in various projection equipments. The application of a high-resolution video display scheme based on the DMD is considered. The scheme has been implemented in hardware with a field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based platform, which organises and selects the visual data, and then feeds them into the micro-mirror chip for the projection display based on pulse width modulation (PWM). The proposed scheme divides the video frame into a set of blocks, and the arrays of digital mirrors in different blocks work in a sequential way, so that the needed bandwidth for transferring the image data can be reduced significantly without loss of visual quality.

El viaje presuntuoso: Consumir y compartir en Facebook

The self-conscious individual of our contemporaneity is excessively conscious of her/his appearance or manner, as it is constantly reflected in the digital mirrors of the online social network. We tend to build our images in the way that we want others to see us, hence slowly we losing the boundary between our images and our identities. Within this perspective, traveling also becomes an item of conspicuous consumption – and the online social network, its display.

움직임 감지 기반의 파티클 시스템을 이용한 디지털 거울

센서 기술의 발달과 디지털 미디어의 진화는 인터액티브 미디어아트라는 새로운 예술장르를 탄생시켰다. 그 중 디지털 거울은 컴퓨터비전 기술과 비디오아트의 융합을 기반으로 등장한 작품분야로서, 관객의 시각적 이미지를 다양한 매체를 통해 재구성하여 표현한다. 이러한 디지털 거울의 미학적 측면과 높은 관객 접근성을 바탕으로 많은 디지털 거울 작품이 등장했다. 하지만 대다수의 디지털 거울은 관객의 참여 정도와 무관한 시각적 이미지를 표현하고 있으며, 이는 지속적인 관객참여와 상호작용 유지를 저해하는 요소로 작용될 수 있다. 이에 본 논문은 기존의 디지털 거울에 차영상 기반의 움직임 감지 알고리즘과 파티클 시스템을 연동하여 관객의 움직임 정도에 따라 유기적으로 변화하는 디지털 거울을 제안한다. 먼저 입력된 관객이미지를 처리하여 관객의 움직임 정보를 추출하고, 이를 파티클의 속성에 적용시켜 관객의 움직임에 따라 변화하는 파티클 시스템을 디자인한다. 그리고 이를 기반으로 관객의 이미지를 재구성하여 표현했다. Development of sensing technology and progress of digital media have been creating new art genre named interactive media art. digital mirror working based on convergence between computer vision technology and video art, is expressing reconstituted spectator's visual image through various mediums. From this aesthetical point and high accessibility towards spectators, many types of digital mirrors have been introducing. However, the majority of digital mirrors express visual images unrelated to degree of spectator's participation and this caused obstruction to spectator's continuous participation and interaction. This paper proposes digital mirror operated by spectator's movements read through particle system synchronized with motion detection algorithm based on analyzing image difference. This work extracted the data of spectator's movement by image processing and designed particle system changed by this data. And it expressed reconstructed spectator's image.

Experimental research on phase detection and correction of two fiber amplifier based on active segmented mirrors

The measurement of piston noise is a critical issue in coherent combining of fiber lasers. This paper presents a strip extracting algorithm, which get the amplitude of phase noise in fiber amplifier. By this algorithm, phase noise of fiber amplifier working in 10-3 W level is measured and real-time controlled by high-speed digital processing circuit and active segment mirrors. Experimental results indicate, that after closing the loop, fringe contrast improves from 0.09 to 0.25, intensity value of piston noise decreases from 1053.4 nm down to 116.7 nm; the calibration precision and bandwidth of the system achieve 1/10λ and ～50 Hz, respectively.

Conceptual smoke and digital mirrors? Issues in audio—visual (A/V) practice research

This article addresses a number of issues in the field of audio—visual (A/V) practice research with reference to contexts, paradigms, forms, UK funding, documentation, peer review and dissemination, with reference to three closely related areas, crudely defined by funding sources: practice research in and through A/V media forms (resourced by the research and funding councils); experimental work in a creative media arts context (independent or arts funding) and media industry production (work funded by, or intended for, distribution and exhibition in a media industries context). The discussion is underpinned by the conviction that A/V practice research across these interconnected areas creates a unique site for the systematic interrogation and development of media forms and modes of representation; it also acknowledges the ongoing need to argue the case for the distinctive creative, social, intellectual and economic qualities and values of practice research to higher education and media industry institutions and funding regimes.