From the Foreword: "Dietmar Hildenbrand's new book, Introduction to Geometric Algebra Computing, in my view, fills an important gap in Clifford's geometric algebra literature...I can only congratulate the author for the daring simplicity of his novel educational approach taken in this book, consequently combined with hands on computer based exploration. Without noticing, the active reader will thus educate himself in elementary geometric algebra algorithm development, geometrically intuitive, highly comprehensible, and fully optimized." --Eckhard Hitzer, International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan Geometric Algebra is a very powerful mathematical system for an easy and intuitive treatment of geometry, but the community working with it is still very small. The main goal of this book is to close this gap with an introduction to Geometric Algebra from an engineering/computing perspective. This book is intended to give a rapid introduction to computing with Geometric Algebra and its power for geometric modeling. From the geometric objects point of view, it focuses on the most basic ones, namely points, lines and circles. This algebra is called Compass Ruler Algebra, since it is comparable to working with a compass and ruler. The book explores how to compute with these geometric objects, and their geometric operations and transformations, in a very intuitive way. The book follows a top-down approach, and while it focuses on 2D, it is also easily expandable to 3D computations. Algebra in engineering applications such as computer graphics, computer vision and robotics are also covered.

The bookModeling Reality covers a wide range of fascinating subjects, accessible to anyone who wants to learn about the use of computer modeling to solve a diverse range of problems, but who does not possess a specialized training in mathematics or computer science. The material presented is pitched at the level of high-school graduates, even though it covers some advanced topics (cellular automata, Shannon's measure of information, deterministic chaos, fractals, game theory, neural networks, genetic algorithms, and Turing machines). These advanced topics are explained in terms of well known simple concepts: Cellular automata - Game of Life, Shannon's formula - Game of twenty questions, Game theory - Television quiz, etc. The book is unique in explaining in a straightforward, yet complete, fashion many important ideas, related to various models of reality and their applications. Twenty-five programs, written especially for this book, are provided on an accompanying CD. They greatly enhance its pedagogical value and make learning of even the more complex topics an enjoyable pleasure.

How do you use R to import, manage, visualize, and analyze real-world data? With this short, hands-on tutorial, you learn how to collect online data, massage it into a reasonable form, and work with it using R facilities to interact with web servers, parse HTML and XML, and more. Rather than use canned sample data, you'll plot and analyze current home foreclosure auctions in Philadelphia.

This practical mashup exercise shows you how to access spatial data in several formats locally and over the Web to produce a map of home foreclosures. It's an excellent way to explore how the R environment works with R packages and performs statistical analysis.Parse messy data from public foreclosure auction postings Plot the data using R's PBSmapping package Import US Census data to add context to foreclosure data Use R's lattice and latticeExtra packages for data visualization Create multidimensional correlation graphs with the pairs() scatterplot matrix package

If you're a developer looking to supplement your own data tools and services, this concise ebook covers the most useful sources of public data available today. You'll find useful information on APIs that offer broad coverage, tie their data to the outside world, and are either accessible online or feature downloadable bulk data. You'll also find code and helpful links.

This guide organizes APIs by the subjects they cover--such as websites, people, or places--so you can quickly locate the best resources for augmenting the data you handle in your own service. Categories include: Website tools such as WHOIS, bit.ly, and Compete Services that use email addresses as search terms, including Github Finding information from just a name, with APIs such as WhitePages Services, such as Klout, for locating people with Facebook and Twitter accounts Search APIs, including BOSS and Wikipedia Geographical data sources, including SimpleGeo and U.S. Census Company information APIs, such as CrunchBase and ZoomInfo APIs that list IP addresses, such as MaxMind Services that list books, films, music, and products

Create a MongoDB cluster that will to grow to meet the needs of your application. With this short and concise book, you'll get guidelines for setting up and using clusters to store a large volume of data, and learn how to access the data efficiently. In the process, you'll understand how to make your application work with a distributed database system.

"Scaling MongoDB" will help you: Set up a MongoDB cluster through sharding Work with a cluster to query and update data Operate, monitor, and backup your cluster Plan your application to deal with outages

By following the advice in this book, you'll be well on your way to building and running an efficient, predictable distributed system using MongoDB.

In this new era of computing, where the iPhone, iPad, Xbox Kinect, and similar devices have changed the way to interact with computers, many questions have risen about how modern input devices can be used for a more intuitive user interaction. Interaction Design for 3D User Interfaces: The World of Modern Input Devices for Research, Applications, and Game Development addresses this paradigm shift by looking at user interfaces from an input perspective. The book is divided into four parts: Theory of input devices and user interfaces, with an emphasis on multi-touch interaction Advanced topics on reducing noise on input devices using Kalman Filters A collection of hands-on approaches that allows the reader to gain experience with some devices A case study examining speech as input Most of the chapters contain exercises that provide practical experience to enhance knowledge of the material in the related chapter. With its hands-on approach and the affordability of the required hardware, this book is an excellent flexible resource for both the novice and the expert in 3D user input device development. Researchers and practitioners will gain a much deeper understanding about user input devices and user interfaces. Game developers and software designers will find new techniques to improve their products by adding intuitive user interaction mechanisms to their games and applications. In addition to the resources provided in the book, its companion website, http://3DInputBook.com, provides additional resources, which include: additional exercises and project ideas, additional chapters, source code, and class instructors' resources. The additional resources are provided to keep helping you with new research and new technology as it becomes available to help you stay up to date.

As the first book for intermediate and advanced users of Google SketchUp, this Cookbook goes beyond the basics to explore the complex features and tools that design professionals use. You'll get numerous step-by-step tutorials for solving common (and not so common) design problems, with detailed color graphics to guide your way, and discussions that explain additional ways to complete a task. Google SketchUp Cookbook will help you:

Use SketchUp more efficiently by taking advantage of components and groups Learn new techniques for using Follow Me, Intersect, and constraints Go beyond simple textures with tools such as texture positioning and Photo Match Create animations and walkthroughs, and explore design scenarios by using layers and scenes Learn how to use styles to customize your presentations Combine SketchUp with the 3D Warehouse and Google Earth

Google SketchUp Cookbook is ideal for architects, engineers, interior designers, product designers, woodworkers, and other professionals and hobbyists who want to work more efficiently and achieve true mastery of this amazing tool.

Expert Guidance on the Math Needed for 3D Game ProgrammingDeveloped from the authors' popular Game Developers Conference (GDC) tutorial, Essential Mathematics for Games and Interactive Applications, Third Edition illustrates the importance of mathematics in 3D programming. It shows you how to properly animate, simulate, and render scenes and discusses the mathematics behind the processes. New to the Third EditionCompletely revised to fix errors and make the content flow better, this third edition reflects the increased use of shader graphics pipelines, such as in DirectX 11, OpenGL ES (GLES), and the OpenGL Core Profile. It also updates the material on real-time graphics with coverage of more realistic materials and lighting. The Foundation for Successful 3D ProgrammingThe book covers the low-level mathematical and geometric representations and algorithms that are the core of any game engine. It also explores all the stages of the rendering pipeline. The authors explain how to represent, transform, view, and animate geometry. They then focus on visual matters, specifically the representation, computation, and use of color. They also address randomness, intersecting geometric entities, and physical simulation. An Introduction to Creating Real and Active Virtual WorldsThis updated book provides you with a conceptual understanding of the mathematics needed to create 3D games as well as a practical understanding of how these mathematical bases actually apply to games and graphics. It not only includes the theoretical mathematical background but also incorporates many examples of how the concepts are used to affect how a game looks and plays. Web ResourceA supplementary website contains a collection of source code, supporting libraries, and interactive demonstrations that illustrate the concepts and enable you to experiment with animation and simulation applications. The site also includes slides and notes from the authors' GDC tutorials.

Since its inception, the Tutorial Guides in Electronic Engineering series has met with great success among both instructors and students. Designed for first- and second-year undergraduate courses, each text provides a concise list of objectives at the beginning of every chapter, key definitions and formulas highlighted in margin notes, and references to other texts in the series. With emphasis on the fundamental ideas and applications of modelling and design, Control Engineering imparts a thorough understanding of the principles of feedback control. Simple but detailed design examples used throughout the book illustrate how various classical feedback control techniques can be employed for single-input, single-output systems. Noting the interdisciplinary nature of control engineering, the author makes the text equally relevant to students whose interests lie outside of electronics by concentrating on general systems characteristics rather than on specific implementations. The author assumes students are familiar with complex numbers, phasors, and elementary calculus, and while a knowledge of simple linear differential equations would be useful, this treatment has few other mathematical requirements. With its clear explanations, copious illustrations, well-chosen examples, and end-of-chapter exercises, Control Engineering forms an outstanding first-course textbook.

This book is for practitioners and academics who have learned the conventions and rules of data modelling and are looking for a deeper understanding of the discipline. The coverage of theory includes a detailed review of the extensive literature on data modelling and logical database design, referencing nearly 500 publications, with a strong focus on their relevance to practice. The practice component incorporates the largest-ever study of data modelling practitioners, involving over 450 participants in interviews, surveys and data modelling tasks. The results challenge many long-standing held assumptions about data modelling and will be of interest to academics and practitioners alike. Graeme Simsion brings to the book the practical perspective and intellectual clarity that have made his "Data Modelling Essentials" a classic in the field. He begins with a question about the nature of data modelling (design or description), and uses it to illuminate such issues as the definition of data modelling, its philosophical underpinnings, inputs and deliverables, the necessary behaviours and skills, the role of creativity, product diversity, quality measures, personal styles, and the differences between experts and novices. "Data Modeling: Theory and Practice" is essential reading for anyone involved in data modelling practice, research, or teaching.

Wolfgang Engel's GPU Pro 360 Guide to Mobile Devices gathers all the cutting-edge information from his previous seven GPU Pro volumes into a convenient single source anthology that covers computer graphics in mobile devices. This volume is complete with 18 articles by leading programmers that focus on the ability of graphics processing units to process and generate geometry in exciting ways. GPU Pro 360 Guide to Mobile Devices is comprised of ready-to-use ideas and efficient procedures that can help solve many computer graphics programming challenges that may arise. Key Features: Presents tips & tricks on real-time rendering of special effects and visualization data on common consumer software platforms such as PCs, video consoles, mobile devices Covers specific challenges involved in creating games on various platforms Explores the latest developments in rapidly evolving field of real-time rendering Takes practical approach that helps graphics programmers solve their daily challenges

Wolfgang Engel's GPU Pro 360 Guide to Mobile Devices gathers all the cutting-edge information from his previous seven GPU Pro volumes into a convenient single source anthology that covers computer graphics in mobile devices. This volume is complete with 18 articles by leading programmers that focus on the ability of graphics processing units to process and generate geometry in exciting ways. GPU Pro 360 Guide to Mobile Devices is comprised of ready-to-use ideas and efficient procedures that can help solve many computer graphics programming challenges that may arise. Key Features: Presents tips & tricks on real-time rendering of special effects and visualization data on common consumer software platforms such as PCs, video consoles, mobile devices Covers specific challenges involved in creating games on various platforms Explores the latest developments in rapidly evolving field of real-time rendering Takes practical approach that helps graphics programmers solve their daily challenges

Master the Newest Blender Techniques for Creating Amazing 3D Characters: From Design and Modeling to Video Compositing Now fully updated for Blender 2.83 LTS (Long-Term Support) and beyond, Learning Blender, Third Edition, walks you through every step of creating an outstanding 3D animated character with Blender, and then compositing it in a real video using a professional workflow. This edition covers the extensive interface changes of the software, as well as many improvements and some almost fully rewritten chapters to showcase more modern workflows. Still the only Blender tutorial to take you from preproduction to final result, this guide is perfect for both novices and those moving from other software to Blender (open source and free software). Author Oliver Villar provides full-color, hands-on chapters that cover every aspect of character creation: design, modeling, unwrapping, texturing, shading, rigging, animation, and rendering. He also walks you through integrating your animated character into a real-world video, using professional camera tracking, lighting, and compositing techniques. The rich companion website ( blendtuts.com/learning-blender-files) will help you quickly master even the most complex techniques with bonus contents like video tutorials. By the time you're done, you'll be ready to create outstanding characters for all media -- and you'll have up-to-date skills for any 3D project, whether it involves characters or not. Learn Blender's updated user interface and navigation Create your first scene with Blender and the Blender Render and Cycles render engines Organize an efficient, step-by-step pipeline to streamline workflow in any project Master modeling, unwrapping, and texturing Bring your character to life with materials and shading in both Cycles and EEVEE (the new real-time render engine included in Blender) Create your character's skeleton and make it walk Use Camera Tracking to mix 3D objects into a real-world video Transform a raw rendered scene into the final result using Blender's compositing nodes Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.

This book will introduce you to the controls and steer you towards understanding what Blender can do. With this program you can create 3D models of objects and characters. The objects and characters can be placed in scenes. The scenes are captured by camera and rendered into digital images. The objects and characters can be animated and then, again, captured by camera and rendered to video files. Video files can then be compiled into movies. This book will show you how to make the Blender program go through some of its paces and give you an insight into this fantastic world. You will be shown the controls and given operation instructions allowing you to activate a variety of features.

This book will introduce you to the controls and steer you towards understanding what Blender can do. With this program you can create 3D models of objects and characters. The objects and characters can be placed in scenes. The scenes are captured by camera and rendered into digital images. The objects and characters can be animated and then, again, captured by camera and rendered to video files. Video files can then be compiled into movies. This book will show you how to make the Blender program go through some of its paces and give you an insight into this fantastic world. You will be shown the controls and given operation instructions allowing you to activate a variety of features.

Putting the G into CAGD, the authors provide a much-needed practical and basic introduction to computer-aided geometric design. This book will help readers understand and use the elements of computer-aided geometric design, curves and surfaces, without the mathematical baggage that is necessary only for more advanced work. Though only minimal background in mathematics is needed to understand the bookis concepts, the book covers an amazing array of topics such as Bezier and B-spline curves and their corresponding surfaces, subdivision surfaces, and NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines). Also included are techniques such as interpolation and least squares methods.

Physically Based Rendering: From Theory to Implementation, Third Edition, describes both the mathematical theory behind a modern photorealistic rendering system and its practical implementation. Through a method known as 'literate programming', the authors combine human-readable documentation and source code into a single reference that is specifically designed to aid comprehension. The result is a stunning achievement in graphics education. Through the ideas and software in this book, users will learn to design and employ a fully-featured rendering system for creating stunning imagery. This completely updated and revised edition includes new coverage on ray-tracing hair and curves primitives, numerical precision issues with ray tracing, LBVHs, realistic camera models, the measurement equation, and much more. It is a must-have, full color resource on physically-based rendering.

Even more than authorship, ownership is challenged by the rise of digital and computational methods of design and production. These challenges are simultaneously legal, ethical and economic. How are new methods of fabrication and manufacture going to irreversibly change not only ways of working, but also designers ethics and their stance on ownership? In his 2013 second-term State of the Union address, President Obama stated that 3D printing has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything . Nowhere will the impact of 3D printing be felt greater than in the architectural and design communities. When anyone can print out an object or structure from a digital file, will designers still exert the same creative rights or will they need to develop new practice and payment models? As architecture becomes more collaborative with open-source processes, will the emphasis on signature as the basis of ownership remain relevant? How will wider teams working globally be accredited and compensated? This issue of AD explores this subject; it features the work of designers who are developing wholly new approaches to practice by exploring means of commercialising process-based products rather than objects. Contributors: Phil Bernstein, Mark Garcia, Antoine Picon, Carlo Ratti and David Ruy Featured architects: Francis Bitonti, Marjan Colletti, Wendy W Fok, Panagiotis Michalatos, Jose Sanchez, Thibault Schwartz, Aaron Sprecher, Feng Xu and Philip Yuan

Discover how graph databases can help you manage and query highly connected data. With this practical book, you'll learn how to design and implement a graph database that brings the power of graphs to bear on a broad range of problem domains. Whether you want to speed up your response to user queries or build a database that can adapt as your business evolves, this book shows you how to apply the schema-free graph model to real-world problems. This second edition includes new code samples and diagrams, using the latest Neo4j syntax, as well as information on new functionality. Learn how different organizations are using graph databases to outperform their competitors. With this book's data modeling, query, and code examples, you'll quickly be able to implement your own solution. Model data with the Cypher query language and property graph model Learn best practices and common pitfalls when modeling with graphs Plan and implement a graph database solution in test-driven fashion Explore real-world examples to learn how and why organizations use a graph database Understand common patterns and components of graph database architecture Use analytical techniques and algorithms to mine graph database information

If you want to use CouchDB to support real-world applications, you'll need to create MapReduce views that let you query this document-oriented database for meaningful data. With this short and concise ebook, you'll learn how to create a variety of MapReduce views to help you query and aggregate data in CouchDB's large, distributed datasets.

You'll get step-by-step instructions and lots of sample code to create and explore several MapReduce views through the course of the book, using an example database you construct. To work with these different views, you'll learn how to use the Futon web administration console and the cURL command line tool that come with CouchDB. Learn how the Map and Reduce steps work independently and together to index your data Use the example database to create several temporary views based on different criteria Discover the uses of Map and Reduce JavaScript functions Convert your temporary views to permanent views within a design document Learn several options for querying the data within your views Limit the number of results returned, skip some results, or reverse the order of the output Group your results by exact keys or by parts of keys

Bradley Holt, co-founder of the creative services firm Found Line, is a web developer and entrepreneur ten years of PHP and MySQL experience. He began using CouchDB before the release of version 1.0. Bradley is an active member of the PHP community, and can be reached at bradley-holt.com.

Readers learn to create high-quality 3D animations and models using the basic concepts and principles of 3D art presented by GeekAtPlay.com's Ami Chopine. Readers get a studio reference breaking down the core concepts into eas-to-understand segments, showing readers the "why" in addition to the "how." Taking an application-agnostic approach, this book shows how to model, pose, and texture readers' creations, and then create scenery for them, animate, and render them. Chopine shows readers what applications best fit their needs and how to get started making money in 3D. The companion website includes video tutorials, models, project files, and other resources. Includes is endorsed by and includes extensive models by Daz3d.com.

Possibly the most comprehensive overview of computer graphics as seen in the context of geometric modelling, this two volume work covers implementation and theory in a thorough and systematic fashion. Computer Graphics and Geometric Modelling: Implementation and Algorithms, covers the computer graphics part of the field of geometric modelling and includes all the standard computer graphics topics. The first part deals with basic concepts and algorithms and the main steps involved in displaying photorealistic images on a computer. The second part covers curves and surfaces and a number of more advanced geometric modelling topics including intersection algorithms, distance algorithms, polygonizing curves and surfaces, trimmed surfaces, implicit curves and surfaces, offset curves and surfaces, curvature, geodesics, blending etc. The third part touches on some aspects of computational geometry and a few special topics such as interval analysis and finite element methods. The volume includes two companion programs.

Economists are increasingly using computer simulations to understand the implications of their theoretical models and to make policy recommendations. New model solution techniques are required to deal with the increasingly important role of dynamics and uncertainty in macroeconomics. This book consists of articles by leading contributors in the field showing how to use these techniques in the context of standard macroeconomic models.

This book provides an introduction to Monte Carlo simulations in classical statistical physics aimed both at students beginning work in the field and at more experienced researchers who wish to learn more about Monte Carlo methods. The material covered includes methods for both equilibrium and out of equilibrium systems, and common algorithms like the Metropolis and heat-bath algorithms. Also discussed are more sophisticated methods such as continuous time Monte Carlo, cluster algorithms, multigrid methods, entropic sampling and simulated tempering.

Wolfgang Engel's GPU Pro 360 Guide to GPGPU gathers all the cutting-edge information from his previous seven GPU Pro volumes into a convenient single source anthology that covers general purpose GPU. This volume is complete with 19 articles by leading programmers that focus on the techniques that go beyond the normal pixel and triangle scope of GPUs and take advantage of the parallelism of modern graphics processors to accomplish such tasks. GPU Pro 360 Guide to GPGPU is comprised of ready-to-use ideas and efficient procedures that can help solve many computer graphics programming challenges that may arise. Key Features: Presents tips & tricks on real-time rendering of special effects and visualization data on common consumer software platforms such as PCs, video consoles, mobile devices Covers specific challenges involved in creating games on various platforms Explores the latest developments in rapidly evolving field of real-time rendering Takes practical approach that helps graphics programmers solve their daily challenges