Invisible Information Research Articles

Decoding Color Visual Working Memory from EEG Signals Using Graph Convolutional Neural Networks.

Color has an important role in object recognition and visual working memory (VWM). Decoding color VWM in the human brain is helpful to understand the mechanism of visual cognitive process and evaluate memory ability. Recently, several studies showed that color could be decoded from scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) signals during the encoding stage of VWM, which process visible information with strong neural coding. Whether color could be decoded from other VWM processing stages, especially the maintaining stage which processes invisible information, is still unknown. Here, we constructed an EEG color graph convolutional network model (ECo-GCN) to decode colors during different VWM stages. Based on graph convolutional networks, ECo-GCN considers the graph structure of EEG signals and may be more efficient in color decoding. We found that (1) decoding accuracies for colors during the encoding, early, and late maintaining stages were 81.58%, 79.36%, and 77.06%, respectively, exceeding those during the pre-stimuli stage (67.34%), and (2) the decoding accuracy during maintaining stage could predict participants' memory performance. The results suggest that EEG signals during the maintaining stage may be more sensitive than behavioral measurement to predict the VWM performance of human, and ECo-GCN provides an effective approach to explore human cognitive function.

Information work of hospital librarians: Making the invisible visible

The aim of this paper is to explore and to make visible how the information work of hospital librarians is enacted in key practices where services of the hospital library are employed to support evidence-based practice. The empirical material was produced at three hospital libraries in three different regions in Sweden between January and March 2020. A practice-oriented approach using the theoretical lens information work is employed to analyze nine semi-structured interviews with hospital librarians and hospital library managers, together with field notes from observations of interactions between hospital librarians and healthcare practitioners. The analysis investigates the conditions for information work performed by hospital librarians as they participate in three key practices: clinical practices, information seeking practices, and HTA-practices. The results of the analysis are related to four categories of invisible information work, and the nature of the information work done to counter different types of invisibilities within the key practices is discussed. The findings suggest that a substantial amount of the information work of hospital librarians is invisible to clinicians. At the same time, considerable efforts are made by hospital librarians to counter different types of invisibility, for example through building relationships with healthcare staff and to develop and make specialized competencies visible. In particular, the importance assigned to evidence-based practice in healthcare allows for the librarians to be regarded by clinicians as legitimate partners with clearly defined competencies in specific situations.

Manipulating Electroluminochromism Behavior of Viologen-Substituted Iridium(III) Complexes through Ligand Engineering for Information Display and Encryption.

Electrically controlling photoluminescence has attracted great research interest and offers many opportunities for technological developments. Electroluminochromic materials undergo redox reactions under low-voltage stimuli to achieve reversible luminescence switching. Till now, photoluminescence switching of a single molecule caused by electrical stimuli is restricted to intensity response because the redox-active moieties are good electron donors or acceptors and electrical stimuli can regulate the photoinduced electron-transfer and affect the luminescence intensity. In this work, the manipulation of the electroluminochromism behavior of a series of viologen-substituted iridium(III) complexes through the regulation of ligand orbital energy levels and electronic communication between the viologen pendants and the iridium(III) complex core is reported. Electrochemical redox reactions reversibly modulate either the luminescence quenching effect or the push-pull electronic effect of the viologen substituents, achieving multicolor "on-off" luminescence response toward electrical stimuli and luminescence manipulation between two emissive states with different wavelengths and lifetimes. To illustrate the promising applications of these electroluminochromic materials, recording and displaying luminescence information under electrical stimuli are demonstrated. Information encryption is realized by letting the electroluminochromism occur in the near-infrared region or in the time domain. Near-infrared camera or time-resolved luminescence analysis can be used to help read the invisible information.

STRATEGIC VISIBILITIES: DIGITIZING THE LATINA INFORMATION WORKER

Recent examples of virtual assistant technologies designed as Latina information service workers are noteworthy objects of study for their potential to bridge analyses of Latinas’ labor history and information technology. Latinas in the United States have traditionally worked in blue-collar information technology sectors characterized by repetitive labor and low-wages, such as electronics manufacturing and customer service. Latinas information service workers, though fundamental to technoscience, have been largely invisible in histories of computing. Latina virtual assistants mark a shift in this labor history by relying on the strategic visibility of Latina identity in/as the technology interface. Our research explores Latina virtual assistants designed by Airus Media, and installed as airport workers in airports along the southwestern border of the United States. We situate the technocultural narratives present in the design and marketing of these technologies within the broader histories of invisible Latina information labor in the United States. We find continuities between the ways Latinas have historically been positioned as “ideal” information workers, and the use of Latina identity in the design of virtual assistants. We argue that the strategic visibility of Latina virtual assistants is linked to the oppressive structures of invisibility that have traditionally organized Latina information service workers.

Creation and Reconstruction of Thermochromic Au Nanorods with Surface Concavity.

Conventional colloidal syntheses typically produce nanostructures with positive curvatures due to thermodynamic preference. Here, we demonstrate the creation of surface concavity in Au nanorods through seed-mediated growth in confined spaces and report their thermochromic responses to temperature changes. The unique surface concavity is created by templating against Fe3O4 nanorods, producing a new concavity-sensitive plasmonic band. Due to the high surface energy, the metastable nanorods can be reconstructed at a moderate temperature, enabling convenient and precise tuning of their plasmonic properties by aging in different solvents. Such structural reconstruction of concave Au nanorods enables the fabrication of thermochromic plasmonic films that can display images with vivid color changes or exhibit encrypted, invisible information upon aging. This templating strategy is universal in creating concave nanostructures, which may open the door to designing new nanostructures with promising applications in sensing, anticounterfeiting, information encryption, and displays.

Real-time display camera communication system based on LED displays and smartphones.

Visible light communication based on display and camera can simultaneously provide the functionalities of display and invisible information transmission. There are widely potential applications in information broadcasting, stealth advertising, etc. In this paper, a real-time display camera communication system based on LED displays and smartphones is proposed. To solve the rate mismatch problem and the symbol unsynchronization problem between the LED display panel with a relatively high frame rate and the smartphones' camera with a relatively low frame rate, we propose an Alternate Bit-flipping Repeat Coding scheme for adjustable frame rate matching and symbol synchronization with the advantage of eliminating flickers perceivable to human eyes. Fast image processing algorithms are also designed to decrease the computational complexity of extracting information from the captured video frames in real-time. An experimental system was implemented on a 16×16 points LED display panel with a refresh rate of 150 fps and a commercial Android smartphone with an 8 megapixels camera working at 30 fps and a self-developed Android APP. The experimental results show that the real-time LED display camera communication system can achieve a data transmission rate of 30 bps for one LED display point and a maximum distance of 80 cm, and the computational time on the Android smartphone for data receiving is only 11.827 ms.

Developing a Smart Library Model in Vietnam Public Library System

The article outlines the development of Science and Technology and the advancement in information and communication opens up new opportunities for the change of public libraries. With the application of advanced achievements of modern technology, libraries have made significant strides in both operation and development scale. Traditional libraries have been replaced by virtual libraries and smart libraries. In order to enhance information resources in an "infinite way", create equality in accessing and exploiting information for all types of users, saving costs and avoiding waste, libraries are tend to link together, share and use the same library resources. Public libraries need to have intelligent library models that are innovative in thinking, technology and operating methods to be able to share invisible information resources to all users around the world without any problems or any barriers.

Direct visualization of interfacial debonding in FRP structure using an AIE molecule

Interfacial debonding is one of dominant damage types in fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs). Therefore, monitoring the initiation and propagation of interfacial debonding in FRP is crucial for evaluating the health state of composites. The present work developed a direct visualization method using 1,1,2,2-tetrakis(4-nitrophenyl)ethene (TPE-4N) with aggregation-induced emission property, to detect the interfacial debonding in FRPs. To do so, TPE-4N was deposited on basalt fiber using dip-coating method, and the coated fiber was embedded into polydimethylsiloxane to fabricate corresponding composites. The results showed that TPE-4N molecule could correlate the invisible strain information in composites with the fluorescence signal under mechanical stimulus, and this could be quantitatively expressed by the grayscale value of materials. Interestingly, the debonding strain of composites (5.25%) obtained by the present method was much lower than the one (6.93%) obtained by the traditional strain measurement, suggesting that the fluorescence technique developed in this study was an effective way for in-situ and direct visualization of damage process in FRP structure.

Multi-sensor spatial augmented reality for visualizing the invisible thermal information of 3D objects

In recent years, infrared imaging technology has been widely used to capture valuable thermal information of target objects for various applications such as construction engineering, advanced manufacturing, and medical diagnosis. However, it still remains a challenging task to visualize the invisible thermal information of three-dimensional objects for further evaluation and decision making. In this paper, we build a multi-sensor system consisting of a long-wave infrared camera, a RGBD camera, and a digital projector for multimodal data acquisition, real-time 3D thermographic reconstruction, and projector-based spatial augmented reality. We propose a hybrid method that combines the benefits of model-based ray casting and frame-based image warping to generate high-quality projected images with complete view coverage and abundant thermal details for visualizing the invisible thermal information on 3D objects. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been validated for two typical thermal imaging applications including human body temperature monitoring and non-destructive evaluation of composite materials.

Dopant Diffusion Equilibrium Overcoming Impurity Loss of Doped QDs for Multimode Anti‐Counterfeiting and Encryption

AbstractHigh ion diffusivity of Cu+ dopants accelerates outdiffusion in quantum dots (QDs) at high temperatures. This kind of self‐purification gives rise to a sharp decrease in dopant photoluminescence (PL) intensity. Herein, a dopant diffusion equilibrium strategy is developed by introducing extra Cu+ in the epitaxial growth process. By preventing the loss of dopant Cu+, both the decrease of dopant PL and increase of band‐edge PL intensity are successfully suppressed. The coexistence of visible and invisible near‐infrared (NIR) PL bands for Cu‐doped CdSe@CdS QDs demonstrates their novel multimode anti‐counterfeiting/encryption potential. Via printing by combined using of intrinsic and doped QD “inks” with visible and invisible NIR emissions, respectively, the bulk‐sized patterns, texts, and numerals can achieve visible–invisible PL synergetic confidential information multimode anti‐counterfeiting and encryption.

Transparent organic upconversion device targeting high- grade infrared visual image

Infrared-to-visible transparent upconverter offers an appealing prospect of demonstrating in situ invisible information without interfering with the intrinsic vision of human eyes. However, previous studies required high operational voltage for visible light emission failing to meet the prerequisite of practical application. Here, we report an organic upconversion device composed of a single photoactive material ClAlPc for sensing infrared light and subsequent visualization by BCzPh:CN-T2T exciplex co-hosted phosphorescent light-emitting diode. Incident NIR signal (λmax at 780 nm) is upconverted into visible light emission (λmax at 523 nm) under an onset bias voltage of merely 1.7 V by the virtue of barrier-less bipolar exciplex design. Particularly, the device exhibits linear dynamic luminance toward NIR power density down to 34 μW/cm2 and real-time response to frequency-modulated NIR signal up to 10 kHz. By comprising a transparent multilayered electrode for see-through upconverter, a high-quality infrared visual image with a maximum resolution of 1588 dpi is demonstrated.

Bar-coating programmable mechanochromic bilayer PDMS film with angle-dependent and angle-independent structural colors

Mechanical discoloration and non-discoloration materials have received intensive interest and have been strongly developed over the past few years for anti-counterfeiting, sensing, and packaging. However, the fabrication of mechanical response materials with both angle-dependent and angle-independent structural colors remains challenges. Large-area mechanochromic bilayer polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film with both angle-dependent and angle-independent structural colors have been prepared by using bottom-up bar-coating. The long-range disordered and short-range ordered polystyrene (PS) nanoarrays give the bilayer film angle-independent structural color. Meanwhile, the surface wrinkling triggered by stretching generates angle-dependent structural color. Moreover, PS nanoarray cracks and surface wrinkles caused by tensile increase the scattering effect of the bilayer film and decrease the transmittance of the light. Importantly, pressure-induced surface structure rearrangements can deprive wrinkling behavior. The pressure-encoded invisible complex information can be displayed reversibly by stretching. It has potential application value in complex information coding, display, and smart window.

Re‐Printable Chiral Photonic Paper with Invisible Patterns and Tunable Wettability

AbstractThe construction of invisible patterns via high‐resolution printing and the independent encoding/decoding of complex information can lead to promising applications in steganography and watermarking for optical encryption. Herein, a rewritable chiral photonic paper formed by cholesteric cellulose nanocrystals and polycation is reported. The chemically crosslinked polycation network interpenetrates in the cholesteric structure while retaining the optical properties of the photonic crystals. The film exhibits controllable wettability via anion exchange, leading to extremely low contrast in the dry state but high contrast by a rapid wetting response. Triple invisible information is independently encoded on the films, including invisible patterns caused by reversible counterion‐controlled wettability, permanent fluorescent labels based on fluorescent counterions, and polarization‐dependent structural colors based on cholesteric structures. Full color patterns can be reversibly constructed via inkjet printing, with a high resolution of 100 µm. In addition, the circular polarization characteristics of the cellulose nanocrystals, liquid crystals, endow the system with complex and independent responses, realizing a wetting/polarization double‐key decryption. This work provides a simple and effective optical technique for coding complex information on a single material platform and expands the techniques available to achieve invisible patterns for sensing and anti‐counterfeiting.

Research institutes in the 21st century: opportunities for architects

Regarding the accelerated innovation in the 21st century, the article suggests modifying the spatial principles of Research Institutes as isolated institutions. The 21st century Research Institute should reflect the increasing levels of openness and security in modern information exchange methods. Thus, the Institute reveals invisible information processes in the physical urban environment, becoming the urban centre of innovation, a new workplace and leisure centre, as well as a catalyst for enhancing the city’s sustainability. The article analyses the historical paradigm of effective methods for introducing innovation to the urban environment, as well as modern socio-economic needs of innovative research institutes in the city. As a result, a unique organizational structure and functional programme of a new Research Institute are suggested. The Institute directly participates in enhancing the urban environment and forming a new lifestyle of the city dwellers. New spatial principles of such buildings are also proposed, updating the architectural typology of Research Institutes in the 21st century. Due to the increased interaction with the urban environment, the Research Institute and the city are mutually transformed. This contributes both to increasing the Institute’s efficiency and raising the city’s economic potential and life quality.

A reclassification of markers for mixed reality environments

PurposeThis paper presents a reclassification of markers for mixed reality environments that is also applicable to the use of markers in robot navigation systems and 3D modelling. In the case of Augmented Reality (AR) mixed reality environments, markers are used to integrate computer generated (virtual) objects into a predominantly real world, while in Augmented Virtuality (AV) mixed reality environments, the goal is to integrate real objects into a predominantly virtual (computer generated) world. Apart from AR/AV classifications, mixed reality environments have also been classified by reality; output technology/display devices; immersiveness as well as by visibility of markers.Design/methodology/approachThe approach adopted consists of presenting six existing classifications of mixed reality environments and then extending them to define new categories of abstract, blended, virtual augmented, active and smart markers. This is supported with results/examples taken from the joint Mixed Augmented and Virtual Reality Laboratory (MAVRLAB) of the Ulster University, Belfast, Northern Ireland; the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy and Santasco SrL, Regio Emilia/Milan, Italy.FindingsExisting classification of markers and mixed reality environments are mainly binary in nature and do not adequately capture the contextual relationship between markers and their use and application. The reclassification of markers into abstract, blended and virtual categories captures the context for simple use and applications while the categories of augmented, active and smart markers captures the relationship for enhanced or more complex use of markers. The new classifications are capable of improving the definitions of existing simple marker and markerless mixed reality environments as well as supporting more complex features within mixed reality environments such as co-location of objects, advanced interactivity, personalised user experience.Research limitations/implicationsIt is thought that applications and devices in mixed reality environments when properly developed and deployed enhances the real environment by making invisible information visible to the user. The current work only marginally covers the use of internet of things (IoT) devices in mixed reality environments as well as potential implications for robot navigation systems and 3D modelling.Practical implicationsThe use of these reclassifications enables researchers, developers and users of mixed reality environments to select and make informed decisions on best tools and environment for their respective application, while conveying information with additional clarity and accuracy. The development and application of more complex markers would contribute in no small measure to attaining greater advancements in extending current knowledge and developing applications to positively impact entertainment, business and health while minimizing costs and maximizing benefits.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper lies in the approach adopted in reclassifying markers. This is supported with results and work carried out at the MAV Reality Laboratory of Ulster University, Belfast–UK, the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste-Italy and Santasco SrL, Regio Emilia, Milan–Italy. The value of present research lies in the definitions of new categories as well as the discussions of how they improve mixed reality environments and application especially in the health and education sectors.

“This is really interesting. I never even thought about this.” Methodological strategies for studying invisible information work.

Significant information work (Corbin & Strauss, 1985; 1988) is often required to grapple with increasing quantities, types, and sources of information. Much of this work is invisible both to researchers and to the people undertaking it. As there are many axes along which informational work can be made invisible, researchers require flexible and creative methods in order to bring hidden information work to light. Each drawing on our own information practices research study, we introduce and reflect on four methodological strategies that have been effective in recognizing and revealing hidden aspects of informational work: (1) consider the local and the translocal; (2) attend to the material and the textual; (3) consider visual methods; and (4) (re)consider the participant’s role and expertise. We conclude by reflecting on the benefits and pitfalls of bringing visibility to invisible information work and conclude with a call for further research focused on the invisible.

Lighting Technique for Attaching Invisible Information Onto Real Objects Using Temporally and Spatially Color-Intensity Modulated Light

This article describes a lighting technique which enables us to invisibly attach information onto a real object by using illumination light and to extract the information from a video image of the object captured with a video camera. A temporally and spatially color-intensity modulation embeds information into a color component of the light beam. First, we assessed the invisibility to the human eye of the information attached onto a real object visible to the human eye. The experiments showed an upper limit value of modulation amplitude that satisfied invisibility for each color component. The experimental results revealed that the blue color component had a much higher degree of invisibility than the red and green components. We also examined the readability of the information attached to the object with a video camera when the information was embedded in the blue color component of the light beam. The experimental results showed a lower limit value of modulation amplitude that satisfied readability. The experimental results showed the range of modulation amplitude of intensity in the blue color that satisfied the invisibility and readability of the information attached to the object. The results of our experiments demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed technique.

Actor–critic-based decision-making method for the artificial intelligence commander in tactical wargames

In a tactical wargame, the decisions of the artificial intelligence (AI) commander are critical to the final combat result. Due to the existence of fog-of-war, AI commanders are faced with unknown and invisible information on the battlefield and lack of understanding of the situation, and it is difficult to make appropriate tactical strategies. The traditional knowledge rule-based decision-making method lacks flexibility and autonomy. How to make flexible and autonomous decision-making when facing complex battlefield situations is a difficult problem. This paper aims to solve the decision-making problem of the AI commander by using the deep reinforcement learning (DRL) method. We develop a tactical wargame as the research environment, which contains built-in script AI and supports the machine–machine combat mode. On this basis, an end-to-end actor–critic framework for commander decision making based on the convolutional neural network is designed to represent the battlefield situation and the reinforcement learning method is used to try different tactical strategies. Finally, we carry out a combat experiment between a DRL-based agent and a rule-based agent in a jungle terrain scenario. The result shows that the AI commander who adopts the actor–critic method successfully learns how to get a higher score in the tactical wargame, and the DRL-based agent has a higher winning ratio than the rule-based agent.

On ice or on air?: how an egregious glowing hockey puck crossed the line into augmented reality

Our article provides a media genealogy of FoxTrax—or the ‘glowing hockey puck.’ Focusing on its role in the digitization of sports media and augmented reality, we frame FoxTrax as a story of ‘becoming-media,’ which Joseph Vogl conceptualizes as the ways in which an object, in the act of becoming a medium, ‘[transforms] apparatuses, symbolic orders, or institutions.’ By transforming the hockey puck into an information-bearing device, FoxTrax inaugurated an augmented reality distinct from the visual reality of the game on the ice. Traces of FoxTrax are now ubiquitous in televised sports, including American football’s 1st & Ten artificial first down lines, sailing’s LiveLine, tennis and cricket’s Hawk-Eye broadcast enhancement tools, and baseball’s FoxTrax pitch locator. These technologies not only change how sports look; they reshape sporting events as data visualisation systems. In this revision of sports, infrastructure and equipment such as the arena, puck, and camera mediate the visible by processing invisible information as augmented reality.

Facial expression recognition based on CNN

Facial expression recognition usually can be defined one of the important research in the field of AI and pattern recognition. Facial expression contains rich invisible information, which can help to understand human emotions and intentions, which has great research value. Aiming at solve problems that usually happened such as low recognition accuracy and weak generalization ability of traditional facial expression recognition methods, this paper introduces the theory of the convolution neural network and establishes the convolution neural network model to realize facial expression recognition. Using the crawler to crawl the network image data and using the Viola-Jones algorithm to detect the original data set, after screening, the face expression database is finally established. The convolution neural network model is applied to face expression recognition of the database. We can find that this method can effectively recognize facial expression, and provides a new way to solve this problem.