Welcome to Cyberworlds as Unlimited Worlds of Knowledge in Cloud Computing:
The Knowledge Worlds being explored by
Tosiyasu Laurence Kunii from his infancy.
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Tosiyasu Laurence Kunii is Chief Technical Advisor of Morpho, Inc., located
in The University of Tokyo Entrepreneur Plaza 5F, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku,
Tokyo 113-0033 Japan.
e-mai: kunii(at-mark)morphoinc(dot)com; kunii(at-mark)ieee(dot)org
Phone: +81-3-5805-3975
FAX: +81-3-5805-3957
Morpho, inc. URL: http://www.morphoinc.com
Tosiyasu Laurence Kunii URL: http://member.acm.org/~kunii/
Archival URL of IT Insitute, Kanazawa Institute of Technology:
http://wwwr.kanazawa-it.ac.jp/ITI/en/index.html
He has been known
from his infancy as a being issuing unlimited questions on knowledge to
himself and to anybody around to find people escape from questions.
That has formed his character of self unlimited study, and a day
dreamer forgetting the outside happenings having little value for his
interest. He has
been sharing the results, and such attitude with the society has been
for seeing
human progress in knowledge.
It has created his life style to work to explore and advance knowledge for livings including
humanity, and to make them realized in the real world we live to improve
life of people and all livings, crossing over challenging aspects of philosohical
and pragmatic problems.
Knowledge as information has been on ever evolving local and global analog and digital media, basically networked, as digital spaces named
"cyberspaces". Succeeding historically long life anaolog
worlds, digtal worlds buit in digital spaces form "cyberworlds",
running crutial activities in our life including e-business, e-commerce,
e-manufacturing, e-education, e-finacing, electonic arts and music. Recent
popular and growing applications include "cloud computing",
as seen in Google and Amazon cloud computing. His findings iclude a
very essential and fundamental knowledge in modeling almost all the
cases of cloud computing in one and only one model named IMAH standing
for an incrementally modular abstraction hierarchy that makes any
design and implimentation of cloud computing automatic, test free and
linear avoiding recent social threat of combinatorial explosion of
information systems constraction such as banking and security systems
merge, e-manufaturing systems update, and web services updates as
Google and Amazon.
Digital media have grown from those on heavy monmmothes to lighter and
lighter devices, and now on copletely portable multimedia devices called
cellular phones. They are far beyond phones, mailers, Web browsers
and TV, but are also finantial devices we handle purchases and credits
through them.
Morpho, Inc. is for such media, to help a part of the University of Tokyo mission as
a way to implement the governmental policy of making it an independent
administrative institution (IAI). To integrate academia and societies
have been experimented for long internationally, and to practice it through
such advancing media is a real challenge, deserving serious social attention.
In some sense, it is spectacular, requiring real devotion of
pioneers and experts.
He
was Director of IT Institute and Professor at Department of Computer
and Information Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kanazawa
Institute of Technology since April, 2003 to March 2008 as you view at old
URL.
Philosophically as the academic discipline, and for insight into the reason
of the current global world problems, either positive or negative, including
financial crises as seen in the subprime loan problems, it is essential
to understand the nature of cyberworls as stated in the following document published in 2004 as the revised reprint
of a keynote paper: Tosiyasu L. Kunii, “The
Potentials of Cyberworlds –An Axiomatic Approach-”, Proceedings of
International Conference on Cyberworlds,Tokyo, Japan,18-20 November 2004, pp. 2- 7, IEEE Computer
Society Press, Los Alamitos, California, U. S. A.
The Potentials of Cyberworlds
-An Axiomatic Approach-
Tosiyasu L. Kunii
kunii@ieee.org; http://member.acm.org/~kunii/
Abstract
Considering the increasingly large impacts and potentials of cyberworlds
as seen in e-financing that trades GDP equivalent in a day, we human beings
living in the real world are at the stage of needing to firmly identify
the nature of cyberworlds. It is clear that if we continue to deal with
cyberworlds as we have been, they grow chaotic beyond human understanding
and control, endangering the real world. In an effort to make cyberworlds
an academic discipline to overcome the critical situation, we axiomatize
cyberworlds and then theorize them as Euclid did in identifying shapes
in the real world.
1. On axiomatization of cyberworlds
- The first order abstraction -
Cyberworlds are worlds created on cyberspaces as computational spaces either
intentionally or spontaneously, with or without design [1, 2, 9, 12]. My
experience of discovering cyberworlds goes back to 1969 [3]. A proposal
to study cyberworlds as an academic discipline was filed to the government
creating Information Science Laboratory at the Faculty of Science of the
University of Tokyo in 1970 with Graduate Course of Information Science.
In 1975 it was upgraded to Information Science Department. Cyberworlds
are closely related to the real world we live, intentionally or unintentionally.
In certain areas, they have grown in their scales far beyond those of the
real world. For example, in financial trading, a daily trading in the cyberworlds
of e-trading in its amount is far beyond that of GDP.
The work to be presented here is a progress report and interim to clarify
the reasons of such fast growth of cyberworlds and to mature the clarification
to the level high enough to make it an academic discipline of cyberworlds.
In establishing any academic disciplines at the level of those of exact
sciences such as mathematics, physics and chemistry, we have to first axiomatize
(or hypothesize) cyberworlds, derive theorems (or theories), and prove
that they meet the axioms. Euclid of Alexandria has done it on geometry
in around 300 BC [5].
In axiomatizing cyberworlds, we rely on the knowledge of well known worlds.
One of the well known worlds, actually the best known, is the real world
we live. The mere investigation of what have happened in the real world
brings us into cosmology. Cyberspaces in which cyberworlds are created
span on the artificials of networked computers. It means we can safely
limit our first scope to the real world inside the period of the human
history, and then extend it later as needed.
Historians do not axiomatize the human history, and they mainly record
and analyze it around the rise and fall of the great powers as the indices.
Let us suppose we measure the indices by two parameters: 1. the power areas,
and 2. the power periods. In setting the parameter values of extremely
complex systems as the human history, following the successful disciplines
of exact sciences, we start from the first order approximation. The history
as a whole does provide enough data for abstracting the first order approximation
of the axioms on the power areas and the power periods [1, 10]. For simplicity,
let us name it as the first order abstraction.
The great powers generally mean military, economical, political, cultural,
and/or religious domination. Globally, the world is actually nonlinear.
An example is seen in the shift of the cosmic view from the Ptolemaic theory
to the Copernican theory. This is a good example of a shift to a globally
correct approximate world model from a locally correct globally wrong world
model. We will see later as the conclusion, that the cyberworlds drive
the real world in its power and area ainto nonlinearity.
Questions on the validity of Paul Kennedy’s prediction on the world power
shift arose when I read his famous book, “The Rise and Fall of the Great
Powers” [11], immediately after its publication in 1987. First of all,
the time period he considered, namely from 1500 to 2,000, looked too short
to make any valid prediction of the future history. Hence, his prediction
of the rise of Japan as the great power after the USA that succeeded the
great power of England seemed unrealistic. Here were the 1st order approximation
hypotheses of the great power shift I counter proposed the next year in
1988 [12] and also in 1989 [13] with a proof to invalidate the Paul Kennedy’s
prediction.
Egyptian Dynasties
3,100 BC: The union of Upper and Lower Egypt by Menes.
332 BC: The acquisition of Egypt by Alexnder the Great of Macedon.
Roman Empire (Pax Romana)
27 BC: Octavian became Emperor Augustus.
476 AD: The last king of the Western Roman Empire deposed by the German
King Odoacer.
1453 AD: The end of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Information speed was 5 km/hour. Just before the battle of Marathon in
490 BC, Pheidippides ran 241 km (150 miles) from Athens to Sparta in two
days. The validation of the model is against Pax Britanica and Pax Americana.
And then, we can predict the nature of the current and future powers (if
any!).
Pax Britanica
As the preliminaries of Pax Britanica, there was the age of great voyages
1400 - 1650. Pax Britanica took place as an epoch making social change
known as the industrial revolution: British change from agricultural to
industrial economies, took place during 1750 - 1850, and then spread out
to the Continental Europe and the USA covering the Atlantic cities, London,
Paris and New York, with an area size of the order of 20 million km2. The
core of the industrial revolution was founded on the British engineering
invention of a series of steam engines as typically seen in British engineer
Thomas Savery’s invention of high pressure steam engine in 1698, and the
improvement to the current reliable design with a separate steam condenser
and also with the crank and crosshead mechanism by another British engineer
James Watt in 1769. From early 1800 steam engine ships and from 1829 locomotives
built by a British engineer George Stephenson became popular. In 1829,
the Rocket locomotive carried passengers at a speed of 36 mph (58 km/hour).
Pax Americana
The key action taken as the preliminaries to initiate Pax Americana was
symbolized in a slogan “to advance knowledge.” The real core of the action
was the establishment of “research universities” in the USA. In 1990, the
formation of the Association of American Universities signified the growth
of American research universities during the years of 1900 - 1 940, in
terms of the numbers of PhDs produced, the volumes in the libraries and
dollars expended for research. The first power symbol of Pax Americana
was an aircraft. The Wright Brothers made the first powered and controlled
flight in 1903 in North Carolina, and for 45 minutes in 1907. The World
War I, 1914 - 1918, saw the beginning of the use of air crafts for wars.
In 1924 Imperial Airways in UK gave a birth to a commercial air route.
In the World War II, 1939 - 1945, air forces were first intensively used.
1954 Boeing 707 was the first
popularly used jet passenger aircraft. Usual speed of passenger flights
is now close to 1000 km/hour connecting the Pacific Rim cities, such as
San Francisco, Tokyo, Peking, Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney,
in the area of 12,000 million km2 as a part of the worldwide networks of
commercial air routes. Note that the whole globe surface is 50,000 million
km2.
The computer industry was the second power symbol of Pax Americana, and
still is. Here is a brief chronological sketch.
1930-40: The Turing Machine and computability theory were developed by
British mathematician Alan Turing in 1937. This is known as Alan Turing’s
mathematical abstraction of computability.
1943-46: Vacuum tube-based ENIAC was built at Moore School of Electrical
Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania by John Mauchly and J. P.
Eckert.
1948: William Bradfield Shockley invented transistors at Bell Telephone
Laboratories.
1964: IBM 360 dominance of mainframes started.
Mid 1970: UNIX by Dennis Ritchie and Kenneth Thompson at Bell Laboratories
initiated the emergence of minicomputers and workstations.
1980: Patterson and Ditley at the University of California, Berkeley invented
RISC.
1987: SPARC architecture machine by Sun Microsystems, a derivative of RISC
II
machines of Patterson and Ditley, have taken 58.8 % share in the workstation
market in 1991.
1990-: The Intel and Microsoft dominance of PC (personal computer) market
share has been leading the world computer industry.
Summary of the Great Power Shift from 3,100 BC to 1987 AD is shown in the
following table:
|
The Great Powers |
Information Carrier |
Information Speed |
The Power Area Size |
The Power Period |
|
Pax Romana |
human feet networks |
5 - 10 km/hour |
2 million km2 |
1000 years |
|
Pax Britanica |
surface vehicle networks |
50 - 100 km/hour |
20 million km2 |
100 years |
|
Pax A Pax Amer Americana |
aircraft networks |
500- 1000 km/hour |
200 million km2 (40 % of the whole globe surface) |
10 years |
The axioms are validated as the first order abstraction of the human history.
Pax Informatica as the cyberworld era Crash: An Economic Crisis and Chaos
The closing of the gold window by Richard M. Nixon on Sunday, August 15,
1971 had laid the ground for monetary crisis around the world [6]. The
gold window was established in 1946 based on the Bretton Woods Agreement
Act, prepared by the representatives of major trading nations, met in 1944
in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, and signed by President Harry S. Truman
on Tuesday, July 31, 1945. Even with a strong economy, on October 19, 1987
called the Black Monday and the next day, October 20, 1987 called the Terrible
Tuesday, the entire financial system of the USA came close to a complete
meltdown. Computer networks have linked stock exchanges around the world
into one market place as cyberworlds. Now, let us add the great power shift
from 1988 AD and beyond in the table shown below in Table 2.
Theorem as Prediction:
Nonlinear, and quality dominate the world power shift in the cyberworld
era. Since the axiom were validated, how about and what about the prediction
of the future of the world? Unlike Paul Kennedy’s prediction, X is not
Japonica. Now, for the first time in the human history, it is not the quantity
but the quality that takes the lead and will be the master of the stage
and scenes of the real world. Computer networks have linked the world at
the information’ speed enough for any power to have a power area size far
beyond the whole area of the globe, but with a momentary power period making
the global world economically unstable as Soros has pointed out [7].
|
The Great Powers |
Information Carrier |
Information Speed |
The Power Area Size |
The Power Period |
|
Pax Romana |
human feet networks |
5 - 10 km/hour |
2 million km2 |
1000 years |
|
Pax Britanica |
surface vehicle networks |
50 - 100 km/hour |
20 million km2 |
100 years |
|
Pax Americana |
aircraft networks |
500- 1000 km/hour |
200 million km2 (40 % of the whole globe surface) |
10 years |
|
Pax Informatica |
Computer networks |
0.5 billion km/hour |
500 thousand times of the whole globe surface |
5 minutes |
Tab. 2 The great power shift from 1988 AD and beyond.
Through the digital TV technology the USA and Europe have been developing,
TV and computer networks can merge together. The hybrid Japanese Hi Vision
technology lacks this potential. Computers have become more than electronic
theaters. Computer networks can broadcast computer-simulated scenes of
the “nuclear winter” presented by Carl Sagan of Cornell University in 1983,
forcing the power shift from military to economic dominance. The military
use of the Prometheus’ nucleic fire is now blocked. The power period of
5 minutes causes fast switching of momentary great powers, forcing the
great powers to turn into cooperative powers. It means no more rise and
fall of the great powers. Hence, Pax Japonica is impossible.
Japan will be one of the cooperative world powers. The world architectural
model has to be changed from a monolithic linear world power shift model
such as Pax Romana to a cellular structured space model or, when diffeomorphism
holds, a manifold model, where varieties of coordinates called “cells”
or “charts” coexist [9, 10, 8].
The coordinates can represent any values, such as economical, military,
cultural, religious, humane or even ethical values. The excess power of
computer networks allows the world to select the expert goals from the
trivial. Even old analogue TV networks have already caused world power
meltdowns. The domino effect of world power meltdowns took place in the
Eastern Europe in Romania in 1989, in Germany in 1990, and finally in the
Soviet Union in the late 1991. Computer networks can cause further extreme
power meltdowns. Media events or media shows in the digital cyberspaces
of synthetic worlds that I named virtual worlds in 1984[14, 15] will play
the central roles in real world decision making in the worlds of politics,
economics, industry and commerce. Electronic commerce (EC) is an example.
We are shifting to Pax Informatica that is not any more another great power,
but a cooperative power.
The theorems and lemma as the prediction of the future of the real world
are derived from the axioms.
Theorem 1 on the power area of cyberworlds:
500 thousand times of the whole globe surface.
Theorem 2 on the power period of cyberworlds:
5 minutes.
Lemma
For the first time in human history, the thousands of years old and linear
great power architecture is going to fade out, and nonlinear and cooperative
power architecture supported by digital and interactive networks is coming
in.
2. On the 3rd axiomatization of the evolution
of cyberworlds also as the first order abstraction
Axiomatizing the evolution of cyberworlds as the first order abstraction
require us to look into the evolution of life going beyond the human history.
According to serious researches on the nature of the evolution of life,
it is proved that there are two types: 1. The dead ended evolution, and
2. the progressive evolution, as explained in the book by Paul Chauchard
[16]. It is derived from long researches on the changes in relative dimensions
of parts of the body that are correlated with the changes in overall body
size, named allometry, by Julian S. Huxley and Georges Teissier in 1936
[17–19]. Chauchard has named a tabular representation of the evolution
of life by allometry, taking the brain as the key evolutionary part of
the body, “Lapicque table” (Figure 3) to dedicate its contribution to Louis
Lapicque, his professor [16].
The vertical axis: Brain weight in grams, and the horizontal axis:
http://www.kunii.net/LapicqueTable.jpg
http://www.kunii.net/LapicqueTable_English_handdrawn.jpg
Tab. 3 Lapicque table [16 ( page 55)]
The evolution of a specific part of the body to adapt to environmental
changes including competitions among species for survival, generally ends
up in losing the flexibility to continue to adapt to further big environmental
changes as typically known in the case of the extinction of dinosaurs and
mammoths. This type of evolutions is known to be the type 1 dead ended
evolution. Certainly the brain as a soft organ, does not provide any physical
function, even hammering, attacking or warming up the body. Still its function
works to borrow and utilize any of such functions anytime when needed any
amount as needed.
The relatively well developed brain has won in its power to adapt to the
competitive environmental changes over the development of the other organs
with any physically specialized functions. When I was exposed to the Lapicque
table through the book entitled “Précis de Biologie Humaine – Les Bases
Organiques du Compotement et de la Pensée -” by Paul Chauchard [16] soon
after the graduation from a high school in 1957, it has changed my life
view. After 47 years, here is one tiny academic outcome from my side.
Cyberworlds and the real world have their evolutional functions similar
to those in the evolution of life. Unlike the real world, cyberworlds lack
direct physical power. Yet it can control direct drive motors to perform
abundant physical movements flexibly. Actually by borrowing any functions
from the real world at the light speed, cyberworlds are performing more
and more drastic physical, logical and semiintelligent functions in the
real world. Hence, we can safely derive the fist order abstraction of the
axiom of the evolutional power of cyberworlds:
Axiom 3 In the evolutionary power, borrowing and utilizing functions exceed
owned functions.
As a matter of fact, for example, on the web, the cyberworlds of GPL-based
open sources have morepotentials to adapt to the rapidly changing computing
applications than closed proprietary software because of the GPL to borrow
and utilize functions mutually and returning the results to open sources
according to the GPL [21]. The potentials of GPL-based open source software
in education to develop IT professionals in exploding population areas
on the earth will save the human future in overcoming the critical shortage
of IT professionals in developing fundamental software such as embedded
OS and real time controllers which can never been successfully developed
on top of the proprietary and closed OS. It is simply because, unlike developing
application software running on the basic system software, developing basic
system software itself requires in-detail knowledge of the core software
and hardware functionality such as interrupt mechanisms, scheduling mechanisms,
queue handling, device drivers, input/output interfacing, and storage structures.
A certain experience-based note was presented without any axioms in 2001
[20].
The following theorem is derived from Axiom 3.
Theorem on limited resource securing wars: Wars fighting for limited resources
on the earth such as land and oil do not pay compared to the peace to enjoy
sharing unlimited knowledge of open source software (and hardware) in cyberworlds.
The proof is left to the readers to enjoy. To make my point clear, the
use of open source software simply to cut down the software developing
cost is only an economical short term decision, and does not belong to
my discussions here. In any event, it is a questionable decision because
GPL requests the resulting software to be open, and hence if the decision
was made purely in a short term based on a short term cost and profit expectation,
the real outcome in a long term will not be what expected. The current
situation in open source software is thus in need of Axiom 3 to firmly
understand its essentials. For daily use, particularly for desktops, there
is no doubt for casual users proprietary OS are easier because of established
vender support with a reasonable cost. Open source software for daily and
casual cellular phone use and desktop use still waits for a reasonable
business model to provide good enough integration, installation and maintenance.
Yet, Linux-based Android on cellular phones are opening a window. It certainly
is a part of cyberworld evolution models, and it is a due course from the
viewpoint of the evolution of life.
3. Epilogue
The paper has started without the prologue simply because my previous publications
are serving for that. The axiomatic approach may have appealed to you to
be too strong. Increasing impact of cyberworlds demands the firm academic
discipline to be constructed to make cyberworlds better understood and
possibly to prevent negative side effects. After 36 years of research and
education, the stage to realize it is still at its dawn. Cyberworlds have
been grown in their core without much consistent design and mostly unknown
in their nature. It makes the axiomatization closer to hypothesizing in
experimental physics rather than those in pure mathematics. In their scale
cyberworlds are ,at least in financial trading, at the level such that
one day in cyberworlds exceed a year in the real world forcing us to better
understand cyberworlds as a discipline rather than as a collection of phenomena.
4. References
[1] Tosiyasu L. Kunii, “The Philosophy of Synthetic Worlds - Digital Genesis
for Communicating Synthetic Worlds and the Real World -, in “Cyberworlds”,
T. L. Kunii and A. Luciani (eds.), Springer-Verlag, pp. 5-15, (1998, Tokyo,
Berlin, Heidelberg, New York).
[2] Tosiyasu L. Kunii, “Algebraic Topological Modeling for Cyberworld Design”,
Proceedings of International Conference on Cyberworlds, 3-5 December 2003,
pp. xxxxvi, Marina Mandarin Hotel, Singapore, IEEE Computer Society Press,
Los Alamitos, California, U. S. A.
[3] Tosiyasu L. Kunii, “Invitation to System Sciences - Poetry, Philosophy
and Science in Computer Age–”, (in Japanese), Journal of Mathematical Sciences,
pp. 54-56
(October 1969), Science Publishing Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.
[4] Tosiyasu L. Kunii, “Invitation to System Sciences - Poetry,
Philosophy and Science in Computer Age–”, (in Japanese),
Journal of Mathematical Sciences, pp. 54-56 (October 1969), Science
Publishing Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.
[5] Glenn R. Morrow , “Proclus: A Commentary on the First Book of Euclid's
Elements”, , Princeton University Press, 1992.
[6] Joel Kurtzman, “The Death of Money”, Simon & Schuster, New York,
NY, 1993. [7] George Soros, “The Crisis of Global Capitalism - Open Society
Endangered-”, Public Affairs, New York, 1998.
[8] Tosiyasu L. Kunii, “What's Wrong with Wrapper Approaches in Modeling
Information System Integration and Interoperability?”, Proceedings of the
3rd International Workshop on Databases in Networked Information Systems:
User Interactions and Web Based Services, (DNIS 2003), September 22-24,
2003, The University of Aizu, Japan, Lecture Notes in Computer Science,
Nadia Bianchi- Berthouze, Ed., pp. 86-96, Springer-Verlag, September, 2003.
[9] Tosiyasu L. Kunii, “Algebraic Topological Modeling for Cyberworld Design”,
Proceedings of International Conference on Cyberworlds, 3-5 December 2003,
pp. xxxxvi, Marina Mandarin Hotel, Singapore, IEEE Computer Society Press,
Los Alamitos, California, U. S. A.
[10] Tosiyasu L. Kunii, “Homotopy Modeling as World Modeling”, Proceedings
of Computer Graphics International '99 (CGI99), (June 7-11, 1999, Canmore,
Alberta, Canada) pp. 130-141, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos,
California, U. S. A.
[11] Paul Kennedy, “The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers,” Random House,
New York, 1987.
[12] T. L. Kunii, “Pax Japonica,” (in Japanese), President Co., Ltd., Tokyo,
October 1988.
[13] T. L. Kunii, “Creating a New World inside Computers - Methods and
Implications-”, Proc. of the Seventh Annual Conference of the Australian
Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE 89),
G. Bishop and J. Baker (eds.), pp. 28-51, Gold Coast, Australia, December
11-13, 1989, [also available as Technical Report 89-034, Dept. of Information
Science, The University of Tokyo].
[14] T. L. Kunii and T. Noma, “Computer Graphics as a Tool to Visualize
Virtual Worlds,” Video Culture Canada’s Second Annual International Festival
“The New Media,” November 2-6, 1984, Toronto.
[15] T. L. Kunii, “Electronic Alice’s Wonderland,” Graphics Interface 85,
May 27-31, 1985, Montreal.
[16] Paul Chauchard, “Précis de Biologie Humaine – Les Bases Organiques
du Compotement et de la Pensée -”, Presses Universitaires de France, 1957.
[17] Julian S. Huxley, “Problems of Relative Growth, (Foundations of Natural
History) ”, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993.
[18] J. S. Huxley, , G.. Teissier, “Terminology of relative growth”, Nature,
vol. 137, page 780, 1936a.
[19] Georges Teissier, “Allométrie de taille et variabilité”, C. R. Soc.
Biol., t. 124, p. 1071-1073, 1937.
[20] Tosiyasu L. Kunii, “Practicing Global Openness in Education: From
Elementary Schools to Graduate Schools”, dali2001(Digital and Academic
Liberty of Information), March 26-29, 2001, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan.
[21] Richard M. Stallman, Lawrence Lessig (Introduction), Joshua Gay, “Free
Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman”, Free Software
Foundation; 2002.
His current researches and projects include:
1. Celluar Database Systems (http://www.kunii.net/DANTE99reprint.pdf)
It
is to integrate local and global databases seamlessly for realize
flexible and self growing databases. It is actually beyond
database management, and manages more general information. It is applicable to the category of irregular data models that capture
spatio-temporal aspects as situations.
An early commecial packaging named CDS, the Cellular Data System, has been
developed and is being used to manage on site data of construction companies
as seen at:
http://www.cellulardatasystem.com/ (currently only in Japanese).
Mathematically it is based on cellular spatial structures in a homotopy
theoretical framework and is an extension of graph theory. The original work is based on the paper http://www.kunii.net/DANTE99reprint.pdf:
A Cellular Model for Information Systems on the Web
- Integrating Local and Global Information -The Keynote Paper of 1999 International Symposium on Database Applications in -Traditional Environments (DANTE'99), November 28-30,1999, Heian Shrine, Kyoto, Japan, Organized by Research Project on Advanced Databases,in cooperation with Information Processing Society of Japan, ACM Japan, ACM SIGMOD Japan, pp. 19-24, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California, U. S. A.
A Cellular Model for Information Systems on the Web
- Integrating Local and Global Information-
Tosiyasu L. Kunii
Hosei University
3-7-2 Kajino-cho, Koganei City, Tokyo
184-8584 Japan
tosi@kunii.com
and
Hideko S. Kunii
Ricoh Company, Ltd.
1-1-17 Koishikawa, Tomin Bldg. 7F, Bunkyo-ku,Tokyo
112-0002 Japan
hkunii@src.ricoh.co.jp
Abstract
Cyberworlds are being formed on the web either intentionally or spontaneously, with or without design.Widespread and intensive local activities are melting each other on the web globally to create cyberworlds. What is called e-business including electronic financing has been conducted in cyberworlds and has crossed a national finance level in its scale. Without proper modeling, cyberworlds will continue to grow chaotic and will soon be out of human understanding. A novel information model we named a cellular model serves to globally integrate local models. As an information model, it is applicable to the category of irregular data models that capture spatio-temporal aspects as situations. Mathematically it is based on cellular spatial structures in a homotopy theoretical framework and is an extension of graph theory.
2. Information system integration and
interoperability with applications to corporate merges, digital
governments and distance
education. The basic researches so far have finished the theoretical
part
on the linear integration and linear interoperability of information
systems,
that are generally known to be combinatorial putting the global society
into extreme difficulty. TVC-CW2005-Extended-Reprint.)
Now the prototype implementations ustilizing Web
computing are partly finished.
3. Open source as international- and national- human resource generation source
as seen in:
Open Education in
practice: Dali2001
http://www.kunii.net/dnis2005-reprint.pdf
On Science of Computer
Visualization: The Capstone Talk, VG2003pdf
Rebuilding the Open Society: The Keynote, Dali2003
pdf
It
includes open source education for desktops and servers.
Integrating open source for education to create critical mass of people
to use, to work in further integrations, and also to join open souce
development
to let people uderstand, to any depth, the mechanisms and structures of
most widely required information systems to solve the shotage of IT
professionals
on the globe by sharing high demand information technology.Thus, the
integrated
open source is turned into a non exaustive and self evolutionary
resorce
on the globe unlike the exasutive and limited resources such as oils
and
lands. One purpose is to use is to let ever fiting human beings for
securing
limeted resorces turn to this self evolutionary resource, and another
goal
is to eliminate IT devides
internationally (see CW2004_keynotekeynote).
One recent international project OLPC (One Laptop per Child)
http://laptop.org/
proposed by one of my old friends, Professor Nicholas Negroponte is a
good
exaple to practice it and very valuable.
4. The reseaches on
conceptual modeling
have been
progressing steadily in varieties of areas in relating human
concepts with cyberworlds as computational worls. A visual conceptual
modeling
is an interesting area with versatile applications. Conceptual worlds
are
physically projected on screens after visualization for clearer human
communication
requiring visual concetual modeling. Some examples are here. Visualizing
and modeling ever changing kaleidoscope worlds analogus to
human cenceptual worlds..Conceptual Modeling
of Multi Resolution Analysis.TopologicalGraphics-reprint-rev.pdf.
5. Cyberworld
modeling has been pursued since 1968. An essay published in
1969 Invitation_to_System_Sciences.pdf
has
served for disseminating the initial thinking, and was the base of
the prososal to start a new Information and Computer Science Department
at the University of Tokyo (realized
in 1975). It was intially authorized in 1970 as Information Science
Laboratories at Faculty of Science of the University of Tokyo with a
graduate
subcourse of Information Sciences. The researches on cyberworlds have
been
deepened and expanded there. One theoretical ground was presented at
Cyberworld
Conference 2003. Since cyberworlds are very generic, it is based on
high
level of abstraction of algebraic topology (CW2002
Keynote, CW2003
Keynote, CW2004
Keynote, CW2005
).
Before that he was Professor of School of Information and Computer Sciences
at Hosei University, where he had been practicing open source education
by organizing open source seminars for the first year undergraduate students
to lean Linux kernels and PostgreSQL client/server database management.
The seminer has created a well known Hosei CIS RAT (Faculty of Computer
and Information Sciences Resource Administration Team) to manage information
resources including servers. His other roles include Honorary Visiting
Professor of University of Bradford, and Professor Emeritus of the University
of Tokyo and of the University of Aizu.
He was the Founding President and Professor of the University of Aizu
dedicated
to computer science and engineering as a meta discipline based on open
source, from 1993 to 1997, to advance knowledge for humanity.
There,
he coined and installed an integrated and computer-based educational
system
on Unix workstations and on the Internet web to cover all academic
disciplines.
He received his B.Sc. in 1962, M.Sc. in 1964 and D.Sc. in 1967 all from
the University of Tokyo. He had been Professor of Department
of Computer
and Information Science at the University of Tokyo from June 1978 until
March 1993. As described above, it was late 1960s he drafted
the
initial proposal to found the Department to research on cyberworlds and
educate young people in that promising area as a discipline of the
cyber
genesis. He has also contracted both academic and commercial licenses
with
Bell Laboratories to educate and develop Unix source codes for network
system development and advanced applications. It was a first step
towards
open source education.
He received the 1998 Taylor L. Booth Education Award of IEEE Computer
Society
, the highest educational award of IEEE Computer Society given to one
individual
annually, for "initiating and promoting computer and information
science
education in Japan and for seminal contributions towards the
integration
of computer-based education in all academic disciplines" on November
13, 1999. In January 1991 he was elected Fellow of IEEE for
his contribution
to visual computer and visual computation. In 2005, he has
bocome
Life Fellow of IEEE. He was also elected Fellow of the Information
Processing
Society of Japan (IPSJ) for "International Contributions to Pioneering
in and Establishing the Discipline of Visual Computing", March 14,
2000.
He authored and edited around 50 books in computer science and in
general
areas, and published arond 300 refereed original academic/technical
papers
in computer science and applications.
He has found the great potential of cyberworls in the late 1960s as written
in "Discovering Cyberworlds" , IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications,
January/February 2000, pp. 64-65. He initiated a raster graphics project
that time to realize a virtual fashion show on raster screens. The raster
graphics developed could display 4,096 concurrent colors supported by a
virtual frame buffer. The result was given a chance to be presented by
a first open computer graphics conference named SIGGRAPH created July 15-17,
1974 in Boulder, Colorado, with the full paper "An Interactive Fashion
Design System 'INFADS' ", T. L. Kunii, T. Amano, H. Arisawa and S.
Okada, Computer and Graphics, Vol. 1, pp. 297-302 (1975). The Computer
and Graphics Journal two special issues served as the proceedings of the
1st SIGGRAPHhttp://www.kunii.net/infads.zip.
To share such visual databases, he developed a visual database system at the same time: "A Relational Data Base Schema for Describing Complex Picture with Color and Texture", T. L. Kunii, S. Weyl and J. M. Tanenbaum, Proc. of the 2nd International Joint Conference on Pattern Recognition, pp.310-316 (Lyngby-Copenhagen, August 1974) [also available as Stanford Research Institute Technical Note 93, SRI Project 8721 (June 1974); reprinted in Policy Analysis and Information Systems, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 127-142 (January 1978)].
Later in early 1980s, to extend cyberwold related activities on the Internet, he developed networked workstations porting UNIX. Actually he was the first in Japan to contract the UNIX source code license for academic use and commercial use from Bell Lab. He exhibited the Unix workstations at COMDEX in Las Vegas in 1983, making him among the first originators of UNIX workstations in the world.
Soon after, he also developed a broadband network system, now a hot subject, and installed it at 500 sites for real time control of various equipment and multimedia as seen in "CrossoverNet : A Computer Graphics/Video Crossover LAN System", T. L. Kunii and Y. Shirota, The Visual Computer: An International Journal of Computer Graphics, Vol. 2, No. 2 pp. 78-89 (May, 1986) [also in Computer Graphics: Visual Technology and Art, Proc. of Computer Graphics Tokyo '85, April 23-26, 1985, Tokyo), T. L. Kunii (ed.), pp. 189-200 (Springer-Verlag, Tokyo, 1985)].
The
University of Aizu networked business system, interconnecting 1000
UNIX workstations on campus including a digital library system, was
developed
by the team having the core of people he used to train through the Unix
workstation development project at Information Science Department he
initiated
the foundation in 1970 at the University of Tokyo and then employed and
further trained as software experts by Software Research Center of
Ricoh
under the direction of Dr. Hideko S. Kunii, Senior Corporate Vice
President
of Ricoh, Co., Ltd, and now also Chairperson of Ricoh IT Solutions Co., Ltd.
These
have been a part of his practices to advance kowledge by educating
innovative people based on free software and open source as publicly
defined
by many leaders.
The follosings are a prtial list of his recent publication.
2010
Publications (partial)
I. Refereed papers
1. Tosho Kodama, Tosiyasu L. Kunii, Yoichi Seki, "An Example of a Tracking Function Using the Cellular Data System", Proceedings of the 9th WSEAS International Conference on ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, KNOWLEDGE ENGINEERING and
2009
Publications (partial)
I. Refereed papers
3. Toshio Kodama, Tosiyasu L. Kunii, and Yoichi Seki, “An Organizational File Permission Management System Using The Cellular
Data System”, Proceedings of The Thirteenth International Database Engineering
& Applications Symposium (IDEAS 2009), Cetraro, Calabria, Italy,
16-18 September 2009, pp.321-325, BytePress in cooperation with ACM.
Abstract: In designing dynamic situations such as cyberworlds, we consider the Incrementally
Modular Abstraction Hierarchy (IMAH) to be an appropriate mathematical
background to model dynamically changing cyberworlds by descending from
the most abstract homotopy level to the most specific view level, while
retaining invariants. One of the distinctive features of IMAH is to define
an adjunction space (an attaching space) level. Cyberspaces are then attached
by an equivalence relation, where the attached areas of the spaces are
equivalent. The cellular data system (CDS) we developed based on IMAH is
equipped with an automatic attaching function defined on the adjunction
space level, and in this paper we have applied the function to organizational
file permission information management. The function helps a user to search
for the data he/she wants from data storage attaching spaces automatically..
Keywords: cyberworlds, cellular model, formula expression, attaching map, file permission information management
4. Toshio Kodama, Tosiyasu L. Kunii, and Yoichi Seki, "Using the Automatic
Attaching Function of the Cellular Data System - Applications of an Organizational
File Permission Information Management -", Proceedings of The 18th
IASTED International Conference on Applied Simulation and Modelling 2009
(ASM 2009), September 7 – 9, 2009, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, in press,
Abstract: In designing dynamic situations such as cyberworlds, we consider the Incrementally
Modular Abstraction Hierarchy (IMAH) to be the most appropriate among existing
data models. It can model both cyberworlds and real worlds by descending
from the most abstract homotopy level to the most specific view level while
retaining invariants such as topological equivalence. We have developed
a data processing system based on IMAH called the Cellular Data System
(CDS), and in this paper we have newly added to CDS an automatic attaching
function defined on the adjunction space level. The function helps a user
to search for the data he/she wants from data storage attaching spaces
automatically. Additionally, we gave an example of personnel resource management
to verify the effectiveness of the function..
Keywords: cyberworlds, cellular model, formula expression, attaching map, file
permission information management.
5. Kenji Ohmori and Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "Mathematical Foundation for Desinging and Modeling Cyberworlds", Proceedings of 2009 International Conference on CYBERWORLDS, 7-11 September 2009 University of Bradford, UK, Sponsored by IEEE Computer Society and organised in-cooperation with ACM, pp. 80-87, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California 90720-1314, U. S. A
Abstract: For designing and modeling complicated and sophisticated systems like
cyberworlds, its mathematical foundation is introduced in this paper. Two
important properties called the homotopy lifting property and homotopy
extension property are applied for designing and modeling a system in a
bottom-up and top-down way. Activities of Internet Company are described
by ¼-calculus processes and a Petri net which are derived from system requirements
in a bottom-up and top-down way using the homotopy lifting property and
homotopy extension property. Entities in both properties are specified
by the incrementally modular abstraction hierarchy by climbing down the
abstraction hierarcy from the most abstract homotopy level to the most
specific view level, while keeping invariants such as homotopy equivalence
or topological equivalence.
6. Kenji Ohmori and Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "Enterprize System Development
with Invariant Preserving - A Mathematical Approach by the Homotopy Lifting
and Extension Properties-", Proceedings of 11th International Conference
on Enterprise Information Systems (ICEIS 2009), 6 - 10, May 2009, Milan,
Italy, INSTICC Press, pp. 116-123, Avenida D.
Manuel I, 27A 2º Esquerdo, Setúbal, Portugal
2910-595
2008
Publications (partial)
I. Refereed papers
2. Kenji Ohmori and Tosiyasu L.
Kunii, "A Pi-Calculus Modeling Method
for Cyberworlds Systems using the Duality between a Fibration and a
Cofibration",
Proccdings of Cyberworlds 2008, September 22-24, Hangzou, China, pp.
363-370, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California 90720-1314, U. S.
A.
Abstract Cyberworld
systems are characterized by distributed
functions and mobile communication. The Pi-calculus gives theoretical
background for designing and modeling such systems. In this paper, an
original method for designing mobile communication systems executed in
parallel in the cyberworlds theoretically and systematically is
discussed using homotopy theory in the most modern field of
mathematics. Homotopy theory gives computer science the theoretical
back ground of designing and modeling in the most general way. The
homotopy lifting property and homotopy extension property categorizing
topological spaces in mathematics are effective in bottom-up / top-down
development in computer science. By applying it for designing and
modeling complicated systems in the cyberworlds, the paper shows
incrementally modular abstraction hierarchy starting with homotopy
theory and ending with program codes makes a system development
theoretically and systematically efficient and error prone.
3. Toshio Kodama, Tosiyasu L. Kunii, Yoichi Seki, "The Search
Experience
using Condition Formulas based on the Cellular Model", Proceedings
of First IEEE International Conference on the Applications of Digital
Information
and Web Technologies (ICADIWT 2008), Ostrava, Czech, 4-6 Aug. 2008,
19_70.pdf
of CD Proceedings.
abstract Cyberworlds of intentional design, as well
as those
emerging spontaneously, are forming on the Web. A novel information
model called the cellular model can model objects and their relations
in Cyberworlds from general to specific based on the incrementally
modular abstraction hierarchy. We have previously developed a
processing system called the Cellular Data System (CDS) based on the
model. This time we have designed and implemented the process for
dividing spaces by creating condition formulas according to the set
theoretical processing in the CDS. We currently take advantage of a
useful search function called a condition formula search. Creating
condition formulas essentially means that data operation requirements
of users themselves can be included into a system as a space on the set
theoretical level when employing CDS in business application
development and also suggests the starting point of implementing the
process graph theory, which makes linear business application system
development possible, preventing combinatorial explosions.
4. Toshio Kodama, Tosiyasu L. Kunii, Yoichi Seki, "Flexible Data Search
Using Condition Formulas", Proceedings of the International Joint
Conference on e-Business and Telecommunications (ICE-B 2008), Porto,
Portugal,
26-29 July 2008, Technically Co-Sponsored by IEEE Systems, Man and
Cybernetics
Society, pp. 21-28, INSTICC Press, Avenida D. Manuel I, 27A 2º
Esquerdo,
Setúbal Portugal 2910-595.
abstract Cyberworlds are distributed systems on the
Web,
and are constantly evolving like living things, creating value.
Currently, numerous Web business applications, such as cyberworld
systems are being built, but in the development of the systems,
combinatorial explosion happens because schemas and application
programs must be modified whenever schemas change. We designed and
implemented the logic of a flexible data search function by employing a
condition formula on the cellular data system. This is the starting
point to the implementation of the process graph theory, which makes a
linear approach to overcoming combinatorial explosion possible.
5. Toshio Kodama, Tosiyasu L. Kunii and Yoichi Seki, "A Condition
Formula Search", Proceedings of 2008 SIWN Congress, Glasgow, UK, 22-24
July 2008 (Abstract); and also in International Journal of
Communications
of the Systemics and Informatics World Network (SIWN), UK, pp. 39-44.
Abstract Cyberworlds are distributed systems where
data and their dependencies are constantly changing and evolving. In
such business application systems, combinatorial explosion happens
because you must modify schemas and application programs whenever
schemas change, if you use existing techniques. To solve the problem,
we have developed a data processing system called Cellular Data System
(CDS) based on the cellular model, which is considered the most
appropriate to model cyberworlds, using an algebra system called
Formula Expression. In this paper, we design and implement a condition
formula and its processing maps as an important function in CDS. A
condition formula search is a very effective measure when you want to
analyze data in cyberworlds without losing consistency in the entire
system, since you can search for the data you want without changing
application programs, if you employ a condition formula search. That
is, a condition formula search is an analysis measure for the worlds
under the assumption of frequent changes of schemas. Therefore, if you
use CDS, the development process is completely different from the
general one, since we do not have to design business specification
clearly at requirements analysis. In addition, we demonstrate the
effectiveness of a condition formula search by taking up an example of
a photo file management system.
6. Kenji Ohmori and Tosiyasu L.
Kunii, "Mathematical Modeling of Ubiquitous
Systems", Proceedings of the First IEEE International Conference on
Ubi-media Computing (U-Media 2008), Lanzhou University, China, July
15th
July 16th, 2008, pp. 69-74, IEEE
Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California, U.S.A.
Abstract Ubiquitous systems built in the environment
of distributed or parallel
computing are more complicated than conventional digital systems. This
paper describes how ubiquitous systems are modeled mathematically or in
a formal way using the incrementally modular abstraction hierarchy.
Firstly,
the system requirements represented by event sequences are
mathematically
expressed by the Cartesian product of actors and events using a fiber
bundle.
Then, the fiber bundles is lifted by the homotopy lifting property to
the
set of subspaces, each of which describes the behavior of a part of the
system. This property is used for modeling the ubiquitous system in a
bottom-up
way. Assembling behaviors distributed in parts of the system, the
behavior
of an actor is defined by the homotopy extension property for modeling
the system in a top-down way. Finally, the behaviors of the actors are
adjoined together by attaching functions to express the system
behavior,
which is equivalent to the process obtained by process algebra. The
problem
of process algebra not having the methodology of how the system is
modeled
from system requirements to formal description is solved by the
proposed
incrementally modular abstraction hierarchy.
Keywords: Homotopy, incrementally modular abstraction
hierarchy, process algebra,
system development.
7.Toshio Kodama, Tosiyasu L. Kunii and Yoichi Seki, "WWW Business
Applications based on the Cellular Model", Journal of Computer Science
and Technology 23(2): pp. 176-187, March 2008, Springer-Verlag,
Heidelberg, Germany.
Abstract A cellular model based on the
Incrementally Modular Abstraction
Hierarchy (IMAH) is a novel model that can represent the architecture
of
and changes in cyberworlds, preserving invariants from a general level
to a specific one. We have developed a data processing system called
the
Cellular Data System (CDS). In the development of business
applications,
you can prevent combinatorial explosion in the process of business
design
and testing by using CDS. In this paper, we have first designed and
implemented
wide-use algebra on the presentation level. Next, we have developed and
verified the effectiveness of two general business applications using
CDS:
1) a customer information management system, and 2) an estimate system.
Keywords
: cyberworlds, incrementally modular abstraction hierarchy, formula
expression, topological space, adjunction space, cellular space,
presentation
level
2007
Publications (partial)
I.
Refereed papers
1. Toshio Kodama, Tosiyasu L. Kunii and Yoichi Seki, "Development of WWW Business Applications based on the Cellular Data System", Proceedings of The First International Symposium on Data, Privacy, and E-Commerce, Chengdu, China, November 1-3, 2007, pp. 56-61, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California 90720-1314, U. S. A.
Abstract A cellular model based on the Incrementally Modular Abstraction Hierarchy (IMAH) is a novel model that can represent the architecture of and changes in cyberworlds, preserving invariants from a general level to a specific one. We have developed a data processing system called the Cellular Data System (CDS). In the development of business applications, you can prevent combinatorial explosion in the process of business design and testing by using CDS. In this paper, we have first designed and implemented wide-use algebra on the presentation level. Next, we have developed and verified the effectiveness of a general business application using CDS.
Keywords: cyberworlds, incrementally modular abstraction
hierarchy, cellular model,
formula expression, topological space, cellular space, presentation
level
2. Kenji
Ohmori and Tosiyasu L. Kunii,"Mathematical Structure of Cyberworlds",
Proceeding of CW2007, October 24-27 2007 at the Leibnizhaus, Hannover,
Germany, pp. 100-107, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos,
California
90720-1314, U. S. A.
Abstract The mathematical structure of cyberworlds is clarified based on the duality of homology lifting property and homotopy extension property. The duality gives bottom-up and top-down methods to model, design and analyze the structure of cyberworlds. The set of homepages representing a cyberworld is transformed into a state finite machine. In development of the cyberworld, a sequence of finite state machines is obtained. This sequence has homotopic property. This property is clarified to map a finite state machine to a simplicial complex. Wikipedia, bottom-up network construction and top-down network analysis are described as examples.
3.
Toshio Kodama , Tosiyasu L. Kunii and Yoichi Seki, Development of Unit
Calculation Algebra as an Application Function of the Cellular Data
System,
Proceeding of CW2007, October 24-27 2007 at the Leibnizhaus, Hannover,
Germany, pp.108-115,
IEEE
Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California 90720-1314, U. S.
A
Abstract Cyberworlds are information worlds where data and its dependencies are always changing and may evolve unpredictably, just like living things. Thus far, it has been difficult to model cyberworlds with higher freedom using the existing model because of its complexity. We believe that Incrementally Modular Abstraction Hierarchy (IMAH), which has an abstraction hierarchy preserving invariants from the abstract to the concrete level, and which was invented by one of the authors (T. L. Kunii), makes it possible. We have developed a data processing system called Cellular Data System (CDS) based on IMAH. With CDS, you can express any space, with forms or not, and attach or divide spaces by an equivalence relation to output information like you do in your head. In this paper we have designed and implemented wide-use algebra called unit calculation algebra on the presentation level in IMAH as an application function of CDS, and we have shown its effectiveness through examples.
Keywords: cyberworlds, incrementally modular abstraction hierarchy, formula expression, topological space, adjunction space, cellular space, presentation level
4. Ohmori, Kenji and Kunii, Tosiyasu L. (2007): Development of an accounting system - applying the incrementally modular abstraction hierarchy to a complex system. In: Cardoso, Jorge, Cardeiro, José and Felipe, Joaquim (eds.) ICEIS 2007 - Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems Volume DISI June 12-16, 2007, Funchal, Portugal. pp. 437-444.
2006
Publications (partial)
I.
Refereed papers
2.
Toshio Kodama, Tosiyasu L. Kunii, and Yoichi Seki, "A New Method for
Developing Business Applications: The Cellular Data System",
Proceedings
of International Conference on Cyberworlds, Lausanne, Switzerland,
November
28-29, pp. 65-74, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los
Alamitos, California,
U.S.A.
Abstract Currently, in the development
of business applications, difficulties
occasionally arise between the customer side and the supplier side,
causing
delays and higher development costs. To deal with this, we propose a
new
development method for business applications to validate them by
invariant
preservation based on equivalence relations. We have realized it by
designing
an algebraic expression called Formula Expression and applying the
algebra
to the design of each space in the cellular model. The system is called
a Cellular Data System (CDS). It can become a common tool for both
sides
to make agreements efficiently in the future. Moreover, because you can
manage data which has any form by using CDS, it is appropriate when
dealing
with data not only in business application development but in the
Cyberworld
where no data manager exists.
Keywords: Formula Expression, Cellular model, Topological space, Cellular space
3. Tosiyasu L. Kunii and Kenji Ohmori, " Cyberworlds: Architecture and Modeling by an Incrementally Modular Abstraction Hierarchy ", The Visual Computer, Springer-Verlag, Vol. 22, No. 12, December 2006, pp.949-964.(revised and extended paper)
Abstract An incrementally modular abstraction hierarchy, which specifies, models and visualizes the architecture of cyberworlds from general to specific, is presented. The hierarchy, consisting of a homotopy level with fiber bundles, a set theoretical space level, a topological space level, an adjunction space level, a cellular space level, and presentation- and view-levels, is described theoretically with examples of online book shopping as e-commerce, seat assembling as e-manufacturing, and accounting as e-economy. Sharing invariants defined at each level contributes to robust architecture and modeling for designing, analyzing, implementing and visualizing cyberworlds, resulting in fault-free reduction in time and cost.
Keywords: cyberworlds, cyberspaces, incrementally modular abstraction hierarchy, algebraic topology, fiber bundles, homotopy, adjunction spaces, cellular spaces.
4. Tomoyuki Nieda, Alexander Pasko, Tosiyasu L. Kunii, " Detection and classification of topological evolution for linear metamorphosis ", The Visual Computer, Springer-Verlag, Vol. 22, No. 5, May 2006, pp.346-356Abstract The advantage of functional methods for shape metamorphosis is the automatic generation of intermediate shapes possible between the key shapes of different topology types. However, functional methods have a serious problem: shape interpolation is applied without topological information and thereby the time values of topological changes are not known. Thus, it is difficult to identify the time intervals for key frames of shape metamorphosis animation that faithfully visualize the topological evolution. Moreover, information on the types of topological changes is missing. To overcome the problem, we apply topological analysis to functional linear shape metamorphosis and classify the type of topological evolution by using a Hessian matrix. Our method is based on Morse theory and analyzes how the critical points appear. We classify the detected critical points into maximum point, minimum point, and saddle point types. Using the types of critical points, we can define the topological information for shape metamorphosis. We illustrate these methods using shape metamorphosis in 2D and 3D spaces.
Keywords:
Critical point classification - Morse theory - Shape metamorphosis
- Topological evolution
II.
Invited papers in refereed publications
1. Tosiyasu L. Kunii and Kenji Ohmori, " A kaleidoscope as a cyberworld
and its animation: Linear architecture and modeling based on an
incrementally
modular abstraction hierarchy", Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds
published by John Wiley, July 5-7, 2006, pp. 145-153.
Abstract An incrementally modular abstraction hierarchy is known to effectively linearize cyberworlds and virtual worlds, which are combinatorially exploding and hardly managed. It climbs down from general level to specific model preserving the higher level modules as invariants. It not only prevents the combinatorial explosion but also benefits the reuse, development, testing and validation of cyberworld resources. By applying this incrementally modular abstraction hierarchy to a kaleidoscope animation, its architecture and modeling is also specified in this paper as a typical case of cyberworlds. In particular, a homotopy lifting property and a homotopy extension property, which satisfy a duality relation, are also described to show how a kaleidoscope world is systematically created top-down from the whole system and bottom-up from the components.
Keywords:
homotopy lifting property; homotopy extension property; fiber
bundle; adjunction space; cyberworld; kaleidoscope
2005
Publications (partial)
I. Refereed papers
1.
G. Sawa, M. Osaki and T. L. Kunii, "Cyberlearning Model" ,
Proceedings of International Conference on Cyberworlds, November 23-25,
Nanyang Executive Centre, Singapore , 2005, pp. 383-387, IEEE Computer
Society Press, Los Alamitos, California, U.S.A.
Abstract In the current information society, open source programs such as Linux have attracted considerable attention due to their widespread public and private use. Information technology-oriented firms tend to employ open source programs as a part of their business strategy, and as a result conventional business behaviors and customs have begun to break down. Such programs have hitherto been discussed and applied mainly in relation to software development, politics, economics and sociology, but they can be and should be investigated from educational aspects as means for reaching solutions to some of the problems affecting society from multiple aspects. In this paper therefore we explore the potentials of open source education from the view point of cyberworlds, adopting Incrementally Modular Abstraction Hierarchy. We propose here education models based on Incrementally Modular Abstraction Hierarchy as a potential contribution to the improvement and evolution of our society.
Keywords:
Open Source, Cyberworlds, Web community chart, Open Source Education
Model, Information Inertia
2. Masaya Osaki , Masaki Hiraga , Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "The fundamental
research of cyberworlds: Social impacts of open-source education" ,
Proceedings of 35th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, The
Westin Indianapolis, October 19-22, 2005.
Abstract We explore the potentials of open source education from the viewpoint of an axiomatic approach of cyberworlds adopting an approach to study "a basic 4 step reasoning" ; axiom, theorem, implementation and proof. The first step is finding the "four axioms of cyberworlds" No1: the power area size is in proposition to the information speed. No2: The power period is in inverse proportion to the information speed. No3: in the evolutionary power, borrowing and utilizing functions exceed owned functions. No4: the concept as an assumption "Information inertia". The second step is "theorem" formation as the prediction derived from the axioms. No1:nonlinearity and quality dominate the world power shift in the cyberworld era. No2: to enjoy sharing unlimited resources make the world stable by its co-operation processes. The third step is the "implementation" as "conceptual education-models" for producing global commons. The fourth step is the "proof" of the social impacts of "conceptual education-models" to make the open source movement succeed from the point of view of "network science". Steven Weber argued a set of general hypotheses as conclusion to succeed the open source. However he had paid less attention to an axiom, which is based on his argument. His argument is focused on the social organization of cooperation and production, not on the evolution of societies. In this paper we argued the potentials of open source style education to make the open source movement succeed. In using "conceptual education-models", we can prove two propositions. The first is that the open source style education is the most essential for the success of the open source movement. The second is that the success of the open source movement makes our society networked and digitized perfectly. We propose here "conceptual education-models" based on a "scale free network model" where the open source style education works efficiently as money did in the capitalistic market.
Keywords:
axiom approach, cyberworlds, global commons, conceptual
education-models, scale-free-networks
3. G. I. Pasko, A. A. Pasko and T. L. Kunii, "Bounded blending for
function-based shape modeling", IEEE Computer Graphics and Application,
vol. 25, No. 2, March/April 2005, pp.36-45.
Abstract We propose new analytical formulations of bounded blending operations for the function-based constructive shape modeling. The blending set operations are defined using R-function and displacement functions with the localized area of influence. The shape and location of the blend is defined by control points on the surfaces of two solids or by an additional arbitrary bounding solid also defined by a real-valued function. The proposed blending using a bounding solid can be applied to a single selected edge, a vertex, or another blend. We introduce new types of blends such as a multiple blend with the disconnected bounding solid and a partial edge blend. We show that the proposed operations can replace pure set-theoretic operations in the solid model without rebuilding the entire construction tree data structure. The proposed blending is shown to have versatile applications in interactive design. Influence of all parameters on the blend shape and location is illustrated.
Keywords:
Geometric modeling shape, blending implicit surfaces, R-functions.
4. G. Pasko, A. Pasko, T. L. Kunii, "Ternary blending operations" ",
Proceedings of European Workshop on Computational Geometry, March 9-11,
Eindhoven, Netherlands, 2005, pp.143-145.
AbstractWe discuss new analytical formulations for localized and controllable blending operations in the function-based solid modeling. The blending set operations are defined using R-functions and displacement functions with the localized area of influence. The shape and location of the blend are controlled by an additional bounding solid thus turning the operation into a ternary one. We also describe a new approach to solving the problem of shapes metamorphosis between k-dimensional shapes by applying space-time bounded blending to the specially constructed (k+1)-dimensional half-cylinders and making cross-sections for getting intermediate shapes under the transformation.
II. Invited papers in refereed publications
1.
Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "The Genesis of "The Visual Computer" ", The Visual
Computer, Springer-Verlag, Volume 21, Number 12/December 2005, pp.
958-960.
Abstract A brief archival and the future prospect of "The Visual Computer" and "The Visual Computer: An International Journal" are presented solely to foster future researches on the visual computer. It is still in its infancy, and the author's view is based on the own limited experiences, and hence is prone to mistakes.
Keywords:
the visual computer, computer graphics, computer vision, visual data
structures
2. Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "Cyberworld
Modeling: Integrating Cyberworlds, the Real World and Conceptual Worlds
", CW2005 Keynote Paper, Proceedings of International
Conference on Cyberworlds, , pp. 3-11,.IEEE Computer Society Press, Los
Alamitos, California, U.S.A.
Abstract The globalization of the real world we live has been almost exploding in its speed and scale spatiotemporally in all the key aspects including business, economy, industry, education and culture, making it hard for human beings to cognize what's going on and deal with them . Thus the links between the real world and conceptual world is getting weaker. The globalization is mainly driven by the Web-based activities in their cyberspaces creating cyberworlds as seen in e-business, e-commerce, e-manufacturing and cultural heritages through the Web and on the Web. Thus the links between the real world and cyberworlds are ever becoming tighter nonlinearly in time and space. It is now crucial to find a way to automatically integrate the dynamically changing worlds, namely the real world, cyberworlds and conceptual worlds, fast enough to cope with the rapid changes. It is a hard task owing to the vast complexity of the worlds to be integrated, and it requires an advanced abstraction modeling. This is an interim progress report on it, presenting the outline based on the previous works on the abstraction hierarchy modeling of cyberworlds to realize an incrementally modular hierarchical modeling of cyberworlds via attaching spaces as quotient spaces and attaching maps. Attaching spaces are also for unique integration of the worlds that are real, cyber, and/or conceptual. They also guarantee liner interoperability of the integrated worlds to eliminate the combinatorial explosion of the computing in their complexity.
3. Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "Cyberworlds-Theory, Design and Potetial- ", The
Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers,
Vol.E88-D, No. 5, May, 2005, pp.790-800
Abstract Cyberworlds are being formed in cyberspaces as computational spaces. Now cyberspaces are rapidly expanding on the Web either intentionally or spotaneously, with or without design. Widespread and intensive local activities are melting each other on the Web globally to create cyberworlds. The major key players of cyberworlds include e-finaces that trades a GDP-equivalent a day and e-manufacturing that is transforming industrial production into Web shopping of product components and assembly factories. Lacking proper theory and design, cyberworlds have continued to grow chaotic and are now out of human understanding and control. This research first presents a generic theoretical framework and design based on algebraic topology, and also provides an axiomatic approach to theorize the potentials of cyberworlds.
4. Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "Towards Open Education Through Distributed and
Networked Information Systems - An Experience-Based Approach - ?E
Databases in Networked Information Systems, 4th International Workshop,
DNIS 2005, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan, March 28-30, 2005, Proceedings.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science 3433 Springer 2005, ISBN
3-540-25361-0, pp. 204-212.
Abstract To overcome overwhelming and global international struggles to secure limited resources such as oil and land, the potential role of open source education through networked and distributed information systems (DNIS) on hte Web to create advanced IT experts as unlimited global resources is increasing rapidly. An experience-based summary of global open education is presented solely for promoting its practices. My life has been benefited from practicing open education, first at an elementary school and later at a graduate school. The openness has been local because of the lack of globalization mechanisms in education. It is fairly recent that we have effective global educations mechanisms for global interactivity and global two way communications such as the web and cyberspaces, distributed and networked information systems(DNIS) in particular. Compared to local open education, global open education removes the boundaries of ages, organizations, nations, sexes, and disciplines. Many unseen barriers exist to prevent global open education, mostly originating from survival intuitions and fights embodied in life itself. Since the barriers are rooted in the nature of life, it is hard to practice global openness in education. Hence it is important to cooperate for us to practice it to see real advances in our knowlege.
2004
Publications (partial)
I. Refereed papers
1.
G. Pasko, A. Pasko, and T. L. Kunii,
"Bounded Blending for the
Function-based Shape Modeling", IEEE Computer Graphics and
Applications, in press, IEEE
Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California, U.S.A.
Abstract
We propose new analytical formulations of bounded blending
operations for the function-based constructive shape modeling. The
blending set operations are defined using R-functions and displacement
functions with the localized area of influence. The shape and location
of the blend is defined by control points on the surfaces of two solids
or by an additional arbitrary bounding solid also defined by a
real-valued function. The proposed blending using a bounding solid can
be applied to a single selected edge, a vertex, or another blend. We
introduce new types of blends such as a multiple blend with the
disconnected bounding solid and a partial edge blend. We show that the
proposed operations can replace pure set-theoretic operations in the
solid model without rebuilding the entire construction tree data
structure.The proposed blending is shown to have versatile applications
in interactive design. Influence of all parameters on the blend shape
and location is illustrated.
Keywords: Geometric
modeling, shape, blending, implicit surfaces, R-functions
2. Tomoyuki Nieda, Alexander Pasko, and Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "Detection and Classification of Critical Points for Linear Metamorphos", Proceedings of International Conference on Cyberworlds, pp. 384-391, 18-20 November 2004, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California, U.S.A.
Abstract We apply topological analysis to functionally based shape
metamorphosis. Functionally based methods have two problems: shape
interpolation is applied without defining the topological information
and the time moments of topological changes are not known. Thus, it is
difficult to identify the time intervals for key frames of shape
metamorphosis animation. Moreover, information on the types of the
topological changes is missing. We present a method of the critical
points detection based on the Morse theory and classification using the
Hessian matrix for solving these problems. The defining function of the
linear metamorphosis is treated as a height function. By analyzing how
the critical points are changing at a particular height level, we
detect the critical points of the metamorphosis process. The critical
points can be used for ease in/ ease out effects in animation. In
addition, we classify the detected critical points into maximum point,
minimum point, and saddle point types. Using the type of the critical
points and the sign of the function time derivative at the critical
points, we can define the topological information for the shape
metamorphosis. We illustrate these methods using shape metamorphosis in
2D and 3D spaces.
Keywords: Metamorphosis, critical points, classification, homotopy,
Morse theory.
3. Benjamin Schmitt, Alexander Pasko, Galina Pasko, and Tosiyasu L.
Kunii, "Rendering Trimmed Implicit Surfaces and Curves", Proceedings of
Afrigraph 2004, November 3-5, 2004, pp. 7 - 14, Stellenbosch (Cape
Town), South Africa, Organized by African Graphics Association
(AFRIGRAPH), Sponsored by ACM SIGGRAPH.
Abstract Models of implicit surfaces and curves trimmed by a solid are
discussed in the context of dimensionally heterogeneous object
modeling. Both a carrier surface and a trimming solid are modeled using
the function representation. Algorithms for polygonization of trimmed
surfaces and curves, as well as raytracing of trimmed surfaces are
described. Illustrative and CAD related examples are given.
Categories and Subject Descriptors I.3.3 [Picture Image Generation]:
Viewing algorithms - Line and curve generation I.3.7 [Three-Dimensional
Graphics and Realism]: Raytracing
General Terms Algorithms.
Keywords Geometric modeling, Implicit surfaces, Trimming, Function
representation, Polygonization, Ray-tracing
4. Norihiro Fujii, Shuichi Yukita, and Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "An
E-Learning System Based on the Top-Down Method and the Cellular
Models", Journal of Distance Education Technologies, 2(4), pp. 77-93,
Oct-Dec 2004.
Abstract As the broadband connectivity to the Internet becomes common,
Web based e-learning and distance learning have come to play the
central roles for self-learning, where learners are given much
flexibility in choosing place and time to study. However, the learners
still have to spend a lot of time before reaching the learning goal.
This discourages the learners from continuing their studies and
diminishes their motivation. To overcome this problem and to let the
learners keep focusing on their primary interests, we propose a
top-down e-learning system called TDeLS. The TDeLS can offer learners
the learning materials based on the top-down (i.e., goal-oriented)
method, according to the learners$B!G(B demands and purposes. Moreover,
the TDeLS can distribute them to the learners through the Internet, and
manage the database for learning materials. In order to share learning
materials among learners through the Web, these learning materials are
wrapped in XML with a specially designed vocabulary for TDeLS. We
employed the cellular models that ensure the consistency among design
modules and support a top-down design methodology. In this paper, we
present the TDeLS for hardware logic design courses based on the
cellular models. The primary goal is to design complex logic circuits
in VerilogHDL, which is an industrial-standard hardware description
language. This paper also presents the basic XML vocabulary designed to
describe hardware modules efficiently, and a brief introduction to the
structure and functions of the proposed system that implements the
TDeLS.
Keywords: cellular models; cellular method; goal-oriented method;
hardware description language; self-learning; Semantic Web; top-down
e-Learning tools; top-down method; Verilog HDL; XML
5.G. Pasko, A. Pasko, and T. L. Kunii, ''Space-time Blending'',
International Journal of Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds, Vol.
15, No. 2, pp. 109-121,May, 2004.
Abstract Shape transformation between objects of different topology and
positions in space is an open modeling problem. We propose a new
approach to solving this problem for two given 2D or 3D shapes. The key
steps of the proposed algorithm are: dimension increase by converting
two input kD shapes into half-cylinders in (k+1)D space-time, applying
bounded blending with added material to the half-cylinders, and making
cross-sections for getting intermediate shapes under the
transformation. The additional dimension is considered as time
coordinate for making animation. We use the bounded blending set
operations in space-time defined using R-functions and displacement
functions with the localized area of influence applied to the
functionally defined half-cylinders. The proposed approach is general
enough to handle input shapes with arbitrary topology defined as
polygonal objects with holes and disjoint components, set-theoretic
objects, or analytically defined implicit surfaces. The obtained
unusual amoeba-like behavior of the shape combines metamorphosis with
the non-linear motion.
6. C. Vilbrandt , G. Pasko, A. Pasko, P.-A.
Fayolle, T. Vilbrandt, J. R. Goodwin, J.
M. Goodwin and T. L. Kunii, "Cultural Heritage
Preservation Using Constructive Shape Modeling" Eurographics Forum,
pp. 25-41, March, 2004.
Abstract Issues of digital preservation of shapes and internal
structures of historical cultural objects are discussed. An overview of
existing approaches to digital preservation related to shape modeling
is presented and corresponding problems are considered. We propose a
new digital preservation paradigm based on both constructive modeling
reflecting the logical structure of the objectsand open standards and
procedures. Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG) and Function
Representation (FRep) are examined and practically applied as
mathematical representations producing compressed yet precise data
structures, thus providing inter-operability between current and future
computer platforms crucial to archiving. Examples of CSG reconstruction
of historical temples and FRep modeling of traditional lacquer ware are
given. We examine the application of fitting of a parameterized FRep
model to a cloud of data points as a step towards automation of the
modeling process. Virtual venues for public access to cultural heritage
objects including real time interactive simulation of cultural heritage
sites over the Web are discussed and illustrated.
Categories and Subject Descriptors (according ACM CSS): I.3.5 [Computer
Graphics]: Computational Geometry and Object Modeling, Boundary
representations, Constructive solid geometry (CSG), Curve, surface,
solid, and object representations, Function representation, Modeling
packages; I.3.6 [Computer Graphics]: Methodology
and Techniques, Graphics data structures and data types, Languages,
Standards; I.3.8 [Computer Graphics]: Applications ?Esimulation,
digital preservation of cultural heritage
7. Tomoyuki Nieda, Alexander Pasko and Tosiyasu L. Kunii,
?Equot;Detection of Critical Points for Shape Metamorphosis
Animation"?E Proceedings of 10th International
Multimedia Modeling Conference (MMM 2004), January 5-7, 2004, Brisbane,
Australia, pp. 93-100, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los
Alamitos, California, U.S.A.
Abstract We apply topological analysis to
functionally based shape metamorphosis. The time-dependent shape is
defined using homotopy. The advantage of this method is the automatic
generation of the intermediate shapes between the key shapes of
different topology types. To complete the method, we have to find a way
to automatically detect the critical points on the time axis while the
shape undergoes topological changes. These critical points can be later
used for generation of non-linear time steps distribution along the
time axis, for example, for providing ease-in/ease-out effects in
animation. We present a new method for analysis of shape metamorphosis
based on the Morse theory, oriented to analysis of a height function.
Although we analyze the shape in an N-dimensional space, the height
function is defined in the N+2 dimensional space with N point
coordinates and two additional coordinates of the defining function and
time values. We can analyze how the critical points are changing in the
given height level, which takes only zero value of the shape defining
function. In this paper, we present this method in comparison with
typical Morse theory analysis using simple objects in 2D and 3D spaces.
Keywords: Metamorphosis, critical points, homotopy, Morse theory.
8. G. Pasko, A. Pasko, M. Ikeda, and T. Kunii, ?Equot;Advanced
Metamorphosis based on Bounded Space-time Blending"?E Proceedings of 10thInternational
Multimedia Modeling Conference (MMM 2004), January 5-7, 2004, Brisbane,
Australia, pp. 211-217, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los
Alamitos, California, U.S.A.
Abstract We further develop a new approach to shape metamorphosis using bounded blending operations in space-time. The key steps of the metamorphosis algorithm are: dimension increase by converting two input kD shapes into half-cylinders in (k+1)D space-time, applying bounded blending union with added material to the half-cylinders, and making cross-sections for getting intermediate shapes under the transformation. This approach is extended here in two directions. First, the problem of gjump?Ein animation or the rapid transition between shapes in the given interval is solved using gsmoothed?E versions of half-cylinders which undergo bounded blending. Second, the analytical definition of metamorphosis is extended to 3D initial and final shapes with the bounded blending union operation applied to the corresponding gsmoothed?E4D space-time half-cylinders.
9. G. Pasko, A. Pasko, T. Nieda and T. Kunii, ?E"Space-time modeling
and analysis" ?E Spring Conference on Computer Graphics SCCG 2004,
Budmerice, Slovakia, April 22-24, 2004, pp. 13-20, ACM Computer Society
(ISBN:1-58113-967-5)
Abstract In this survey, the problem of general type shape metamorphosis is considered as a typical space-time modeling operation. A new approach based on bounded blending of space-time half-cylinders is described. Detection and classification of critical points of shape topological changes on the time axis are presented. Examples in 2D and 3D spaces are given.
Keywords:
Space-time, metamorphosis, bounded blending, function representation,
implicit surfaces, critical points, topological analysis.
II. Invited papers in refereed publications
1. Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "The Potentials of Cyberworlds -An Axiomatic
Approach-", Proceedings of International Conference on Cyberworlds,
18-20 November 2004, pp. 2 - 7, Tokyo, Japan, IEEE Computer Society
Press, Los Alamitos, California, U. S. A.
Abstract Considering the increasingly large impacts and potentials of
cyberworlds as seen in e-financing that trades GDP equivalent in a day,
we human beings living in the real world are at the stage of needing to
firmly identify the nature of cyberworlds. It is clear that if
we continue to deal with cyberworlds as we have been, they grow chaotic
beyond human understanding and control, endangering the real
world. In an effort to make cyberworlds an academic discipline
to overcome the critical situation, we axiomatize cyberworlds and then
theorize them as Euclid did in identifying shapes in the real
world.
2003
Publications (partial)
I. Refereed papers
1.Galina Pasko, Alexander Pasko, Makoto Ikeda and Tosiyasu L. Kunii,
"2D Shape Transformation Using 3D Blending, Proceedings of the 9th
International Conference on Multi-Media Modeling (MMM 2003), pp.
390-401, January 7-10, 2003,TamkangUniversity, Tamsui, Taipei, Taiwan
(ISBN 957-9078-57-2).
Abstract Computer animation is one of the key components
of a multimedia document or presentation. Shape transformation between
objects of different topology and positions is an open modeling problem
in computer animation. We propose a new approach to solving this
problem for two given 2D shapes. The key steps of the proposed
algorithm are: dimension increase by converting input 2D shapes into
half-cylinders in 3D space, bounded blending with added material
between the half-cylinders, and making cross-sections for getting
frames of the animation. We use the bounded blending set operations
defined using R-functions and displacement functions with the localized
area of influence applied to the functionally defined 3D
half-cylinders. The proposed approach is general enough to handle input
shapes with arbitrary topology defined as polygons with holes and
disjoint components, set-theoretic objects, or analytical implicit
curves. The obtained unusual amoeba-like behavior of the 2D shape
combines metamorphosis with the non-linear movement on the plane.
II. Invited papers in refereed publications
1. Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "Algebraic Topological Modeling for Cyberworld
Design", Proceedings of International Conference on Cyberworlds,pp.
xx-xxvi, 3-5 December 2003, Marina Mandarin Hotel, Singapore, IEEE
Computer Society Press, LosAlamitos, California, U.S.A.
Abstract The
diversity of cyberworlds makes it hard to see consistency in terms of
invariants. The consistency requires for us to abstract the
most essentials out of the diversity, and hence the most abstract
mathematics. It has been true in science in general, and in
the theory of universe in particular. What are the most
essential invariants in modeling cyberworlds? A branch of the
most abstract mathematics is topology. For topology to be
computable, it has to be algebraic. So, the searches have
been for over two decades in algebraic topology for
cyberworld invariants. Equivalence relations define
invariants at various abstraction levels. The paper solely
serves as an initial summary of algebraic topological resources for
studying cyberworlds starting from the very elementary set theoretical
level. High social impact application cases of e-financing
and e-manufacturing are presented at the end.
2. Tosiyasu
L. Kunii, " What's Wrong with Wrapper Approaches in Modeling
Information System Integration and Interoperability?", Proceedings of
the 3rd International Workshop on Databases in Networked Information
Systems: User Interactions and Web Based Services, (DNIS 2003),
September 22-24, 2003, The University of Aizu, Japan, Lecture Notes in
Computer Science, Nadia Bianchi-Berthouze, Ed., pp. 86-96,
Springer-Verlag, September, 2003.
Abstract Among the largest impact research themes at the time of
world-wide recession, the key subject is how to cope with mega company
formations and e-government (digital government) projects that depend
on the successes of information system integration. The current
information system integration approaches such as wrapper approaches
basically create combinatorial interfacing and/or combinatorial data
conversion making the integration practically impossible because of
interfacing explosion and/or computational explosion. A linear approach
to overcome the combinatorial explosion is presented and discussed.
3. Tosiyasu L. Kunii, Masumi
Ibusuki, Galina I. Pasko, Alexander A. Pasko, Daisuke Terasaki, and
Hiroshi Hanaizumi, "Modeling of Conceptual Multiresolution Analysis by
an Incrementally Modular Abstraction Hierarchy", Transactions of
Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, Vol.
E86-D, No. 7, pp. 1181-1190, July 2003.
Abstract Recent advances of Web information systems such
as e-commerce and e-learning have created very large but hidden demands
on conceptual multiresolution analysis for more generalized information
analysis, cognition and modeling. To meet the demands in a general way,
its modeling is formulated based on modern algebraic topology. To be
specific, the modeling formulation is worked out in an incrementally
modular abstraction hierarchy with emphasis on the two levels of the
hierarchy appropriate for conceptual modeling: the adjunction space
level and the cellular structured space level. Examples are shown to
demonstrate the usefulness of the presented model as well as an
implementation of a flower structure case.
Key words: conceptual multiresolution analysis, adjunction
spaces, cellular structured spaces, incrementally modular abstraction
hierarchy, Web information systems
4.Rynson W. H. Lau, Frederick Li, Tosiyasu L. Kunii,
Baining Guo, Bo Zhang, Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann, Sumedha Kshirsager,
Daniel Thalmann, and Mario Gutierrez, "Emerging Web Graphics Standards
and Technologies", IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, pp. 66-75,
January/February, 2003,IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos,
California, U.S.A.
Abstract Migrating computer graphics to the Web poses
several problems, but with new standards and technology advances,
graphics applications can balance latency and bandwidth constraints
with image quality.
2002
Publications (partial)
I. Refereed papers
1.Valery Adzhiev, Elena Kartasheva, Tosiyasu L. Kunii, Alexander Pasko
and Benjamin Schmitt, "Hybrid Cellular-functional Modeling of
Heterogeneous Objects", Journal of Computing and Information Science in
Engineering, pp. 312-322, December, 2002, Computers and Information in
Engineering Division of ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers)
and ACM,ASME Technical Publishing, Three Park Avenue, New York, NY
10016, USA.
Abstract An approach to modeling heterogeneous objects as
multidimensional point sets with multiple attributes (hypervolumes) is
presented. Attributes given at each point represent object properties
of arbitrary nature (material, physical, etc.). A proposed theoretical
framework is based on a hybrid model of geometry and attributes
combining a cellular representation and a functionally based
constructive representation of dimensionally non-homogeneous entities.
Hypervolume model components such as objects, operations and relations
are introduced and outlined. We present examples of modeling a
multi-layer geological structure with cavities and wells,
time-dependent adaptive mesh generation, and conversion of a 3D
implicit complex to the cellular representation.
Keywords Multidimensional point sets, attributes,
heterogeneous models, function representation, cellular representation,
volume modeling
2. Masayuki Hisada, Alexander G. Belyaev, Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "A
Skeleton-based Approach for Detection of Perceptually Salient Features
on Polygonal Surfaces", Computer Graphics Forum, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp.
1-12, 2002.
Abstract The paper presents a skeleton-based approach for robust
detection of perceptually salient shape features. Given a shape
approximated by a polygonal surface, its skeleton is extracted using a
three-dimensional Voronoi dia-gram technique proposed recently by
Amenta et al. 3 . Shape creases, ridges and ravines, are detected as
curves corresponding to skeletal edges. Salient shape regions are
extracted via skeleton decomposition into patches. The approach
explores the singularity theory for ridge and ravine detection,
combines several filtering methods for skeleton denoising and for
selecting perceptually important ridges and ravines, and uses a
topological analysis of the skeleton for detection of salient shape
regions.
3.Pizzanu Kanongchaiyos, Tomoyuki Nishita, Yoshihisa Shinagawa, and Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "Topological Morphing Using Reeb Graphs", Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Cyber Worlds (CW2002), November 6-8 2002 Tokyo, Japan, pp.. 465-471, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California, November 2002.
Abstract Metamorphosis
between 3D objects is often the transformation between a pair of shapes
that have the same topology. This paper presents a new model using Reeb
graphs and their contours to create morphing between 3D objects having
different topology. The proposed method specifies the correspondence
between of the input objects by using the graph isomorphic theory. Then
the super Reeb graph, which has the equivalent topological information
to the Reeb graphs of the two input objects, is constructed and used to
conduct the sequence of the morphing. The evolutions of the topology
that occur during the morph can be specified by the transformation of
the Reeb graphs and their contours of the input objects. Reeb
graph-based modeling allows the users precisely and intuitively control
the morph because the topological information of the objects,
represented by the structures of the Reeb graphs, is explicit and easy
to understand. Moreover, the contours of the Reeb graphs also represent
the geometrical information of the objects. The examples of morphing
between different topological shapes are demonstrated.
Keywords: 3D morphing, topological evolutions, Reeb graphs
4.Kazuteru Matsumoto, and
Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "A Cellular Design System for Soft- and Varied
Sized- Objects",Proceedings
of the First International Symposium on Cyber Worlds (CW2002), November
6-8 2002 Tokyo, Japan, pp. 386-393, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los
Alamitos, California, November 2002.
Abstract After we sketch the design of a product
on the Web, we can obtain each part of the product applying a cell
decomposition to the sketched design based on the cellular model
operations and then applying the homotopy theory to it. When we perform
cell decomposition, we can specify the manufacturing procedures of a
product as homotopy invariants based on the homotopy theory. Using the
parts and the manufacturing procedures of a product, and cell attaching
functions accumulated in the cellular design database while these
procedures are applied, we show first that we can perform the real
design of soft objects, the shapes of which are constantly changing. We
then show that the cellular model also can uniformly specify varied
sizes. Thus, the cellular model is far more powerful than existing
geometric models. The design of bags is taken as an example of soft
object and varied sized object design.
Key words and phrases soft object design, varied sized
object design, a cellular model, a cell decomposition, homotopy theory,
a cellular design database, cell attaching functions.
5.Valery Adzhiev, Elena Katasheva, Tosiyasu L. Kunii, Alexander Pasko and Benjamin Schmitt, "Cellular-Functional Modeling of Heterogeneous Objects", Proceedings of 7th ACM Symposium on Solid Modeling and Applications, June 17-21, 2002, pp. 192-203, ACM Press, 1515 Broadway, New York, NY, 10036, USA.
Abstract
The paper presents an approach to modeling heterogeneous objects as
multidimensional point sets with multiple attributes(hypervolumes). A
theoretical framework is based on a hybridmodel of hypervolumes
combining a cellular representation and aconstructive representation
using real-valued functions. Thismodel allows for independent but
unifying representation ofgeometry and attributes, and makes it
possible to represent dimensionally non-homogeneous entities and their
cellulardecompositions. Hypervolume model components such as
objects,operations and relations are introduced and outlined. The
framework's inherent multidimensionality allowing, in particular,to
deal naturally with time dependence promises to modelcomplex dynamic
objects composed of different. Attributes givenat each point can
represent properties of arbitrary nature (material,photometric,
physical, statistical, etc.). To demonstrate aparticular application of
the proposed framework, we present anexample of multimaterial modeling
? the multilayer geologicalstructure with cavities and wells. Another
example illustrating thetreatment of attributes other than material
distributions isconcerned with time-dependent adaptive mesh generation
wherethe function representation is used to describe object geometryand
density of elements in the cellular model of the mesh. Theexamples have
been implemented with using a specializedmodeling language and software
tools being developed by theauthors.
KeywordsMultidimensional point sets, attributes, heterogeneous
models,function representation, cellular representation, volume
modeling.
6. Kitani Noriko and Tosiyasu L. Kunii,"Web-based Design Databases ", Proceedings of NICOGRAPH International 2002, May 30, 2002, Tokyo, Japan, pp.103-114, The Society for Art and Science, May 2002.
Abstract
A new flexible and well-defined method was developed to turn objects in
the real world, designed to satisfy users' taste, into reusable design
resources on the Web by virtually decomposing the original design into
parts. We show that we can repeat design processes efficiently by
storing the information on part cell attachment as design information
as well as by making the cell design processes of the parts
homotopically equivalent. We then show the possibility of a new
architecture of Web-based design databases management systems to
support flexible design and redesign. To demonstrate the power of the
new method, bag design is selected as an example.
Key Words and Phrases: Web-based design databases, cell model, cell
attachment, cell decomposition, homotopy equivalence, redesign.
7.Yoshihisa Shinagawa, Ryoji Kawamichi, Tosiyasu L. Kunii and Shegeru Ohwada, "Developing Surfaces ", Proceedings of the International Conference on Shape Modeling and Applications, May 17-22, 2002, Banff, Canada, pp.253-260, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California, May 2002.
Abstract To transform a
three-dimensional object or to map texture to its surface, it is
necessary to introduce a coordinate system. If the surface can be cut
and developed, it is easy to identify each point on the surface with
the coordinate values. According to a theory in topology, any closed
polygonalized two-dimensional surface can be represented by a canonical
development. However, no efficient algorithm to actually develop a
given surface has been presented, and theory sounds abstract. This
paper proposes a method to develop an arbitrary polygonal closed
surface and to establish the correspondence between each point on the
surface and a point on a regular polygon. Educational software is
developed using the algorithm that visualizes the coordinate system by
texture mapping or by allowing a user to paint on the surface.
Keywords development, algebraic topology, groups, homology, texture
mapping, transformation.
8. Galina Pasko, Alexander Pasko, Makoto Ikeda and Tosiyasu L.
Kunii, "Bound Blending Operations", Proceedings of the
International Conference on Shape Modeling and Applications, May 17-22,
2002, Banff, Canada}, pp.95-103, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los
Alamitos, California, May 2002.
Abstract New analytical formulations of bounded blending for
functionally defined set-theoretic operations are proposed. The
blending set operations are defined using R-functions and displacement
functions with localized area of influence. The shape and location of
the blend is defined by control points on the surfaces of two solids or
by an additional bounding solid. The proposed blending using a bounding
solid can be applied to a single selected edge or vertex. We introduce
new types of blends such as a multiple blend with the disconnected
bounding solid and a partial edge blend.
9. Masayuki Hisada, Alexander G. Belyaev, and Tosiyasu L. Kunii,
"Towards a singularity-based shape language: ridges, ravines, and
skeletons for polygonal surfaces", Soft Computing, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2002,
pp. 45-52, Springer-Verlag, Heidelber, Germany.
Abstract High demands on digital contents have posing strong needs on
visual languages on three-dimensional (3D) shapes for improved human
communication. For a visual language to effectively communicate
essential 3D shape information, shape features defined in terms of
singularity signs have been recognized as key shape descriptors. In
this paper, we study salient shape features defined via distance
function singularities: ridges, ravines, and a skeleton. We propose a
method for robust extraction of the 3D skeleton of a polygonal surface
and detection of salient surface features, ridges and ravines,
corresponding to the skeletal edges. The method adapts the
three-dimensional Voronoi diagram technique for skeleton extraction,
explores singularity theory for ridge and ravine detection, and
combines several filtering methods for skeleton denoising and for
selecting perceptually salient ridges and ravines. We demonstrate that
the ridges and ravines convey important shape information and, in
particular, can be used for face recognition purposes.
Keywords Polygonal surface, 3D Voronoi diagram, Skeleton, Ridges and
ravines
10.Galina Pasko, Alexander Pasko, Makoto Ikeda and Tosiyasu L. Kunii,
"Localized Blending for Exact Control of Shapes", International Journal
of Shape Modeling, Volume 8, No. 2, pp.159-172, December 2002, World
Scientific, Singapore.
Abstract Blending of two shapes generates a smooth
transition between them by adding or removing material. In this work,
new analytical formulations of localized blending for functionally
defined set-theoretic operations are proposed. The blending set
operations are defined using R-functions and displacement functions
with the localized area influence. An additional blending solid defines
the shape and the location of the blend. The proposed bound blending
can be applied to a single selected feature of a shape (corner, edge,
and others). We introduce new types of blend such as a multiple blend
with disconnected bounding solid and a partial edge blend. It is shown
to have versatile applications in interactive design. We also describe
the applications of the bound blending to the 2D shape transformation
problem we encounter in animation.
Keywordsblending, function representation, R-functions,
metamorphosis
II. Invited papers in refereed publications
1. Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "Web Information Modeling", Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Databases in Networked Information Systems (DNIS 2002) (December 16-18, 2002, Aizu, Japan), pp. 58-63, Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS), Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg.
Abstract.The nature of Web information is clarified and modeled as the adjunction space model.. Practical Web information management requires Web information to be modeled in such a way that the model captures the dynamic changes, present the dynamism visually, and validate the results formally. As the mathematical ground of the model, we have adopted algebraic topology, cellular spatial structures in the homotopic framework and adjunction spaces in particular. The results have been applied successfully to typical Web information systems such e-finance and e-manufacturing to validate the advantages of our Web information modeling over the popular relational model, the entity relationship model, UML, and XML.
3. Toshio Kodama and Tosiyasu L.
Kunii, "Homotopic Database Animation", Proceedings of Computer
Animation 2002 (June 19-21, 2002, Geneva, Switzerland) pp. 89-97 (IEEE
Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California, U. S. A.).
Abstract Very large databases on the Web have been
changing dynamically and have become complicated today. This research
aims at helping users' understanding of database changes by database
animation. As a case study, animating budget management of one company
is researched. It shows clearly that database animation help understand
the flow of plans and the distribution of the whole budget.
Furthermore, it has shown that reverse animation by preserved homotopy
realizes the effective reuse of databases.
Keywords: database animation, cellular databases,
homotopic animation, homotopy, cellular model.
2001 Publications
I. Refereed papers
1. Kenji Ohmori and Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "Shape Modeling Using Homotopy", Proceedings of International Conference on Shape Modeling and Applications 2001 (SMI 2001), Genoa, Italy, May 7-11, 2001, pp. 126-133, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California, May 2001.
Abstract
We introduce a new method of shape modeling using homotopy
and object-oriented modeling. Homotopy is a kind of topology that gives
more general ideas of preserving invariant properties of geometrical
objects and is further expanded to conceptual objects. The conventional
shape modeling using polygonalization has serious difficulties in
preserving invariant properties, leading to the necessity of a massive
amount of data. On the other hand, the combination of homotopy and
object-oriented modeling, which uses class hierarchy, help preserve
invariant properties at all abstraction levels. We will explain how our
new method will help us preserve invariant properties, which keeps the
amount of data to the minimum possible level, using an example of a
tennis ball rolling on a slope.
Keywords: homotopy model, cellular spatial structures, filtration.
2. Taku Komura, Yoshihisa Shinagawa and Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "Motion Conversion Based on the Musculoskeltal System", Proceedings of Graphics Interface 2001, June 7 - 9, 2001, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, pp.27-36.
Abstract Inverse kinematics is one of the most popular method in computer graphics to control 3D multi-joint characters. In this paper, we propose an inverse kinematics algorithm that takes the characteristics of human bodies into account. The mausculoskeletal model is used to solve the redundancy of the human body. Using our method, feasible human body motion can be obtained simply by specifying the motion of several end effectors or body segments. Since muscle dynamics is taken into account, the configuration space of the human body is automatically calculated, and unrealistic postures can be avoided, it is also possible to tune the motion by changing the external load applied to the muscles. Using our method, the amount of work by the animators is reduced to create natural human animation.
3. Masayuki Hisada and Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "Implementation of Object Attachments by Cellular Modeling", Proceedings of CG International 2001, July 3-6, 2001, Hong Kong, pp.159-166, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California, July 2001
Abstract We research the defects of geometric modeling in representing object attachments. It is difficult to represent different types of object attachments such as gluing or fusing in current computer graphics. We consider two types of different attachments such that an object is put on the top of another object, and an object is fused to the top of another object. To represent the relationships of object attachments, we assume a hypothesis such that we can represent the information of object attachments in computer graphics based on the cellular models, and consider the real implementation in computer graphics for proving that the cellular model of object attachments meets the hypothesis. The results of our research are expected to influence major applications including computer integrated manufacturing (CIM).
4. Taku Komura,
Yoshihisa Shinagawa and Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "An Inverse Kinematics
Method Based on Muscle Dynamics", Proceedings of CG International 2001,
July 3-6, 2001, Hong Kong, pp.15-22, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los
Alamitos, California, July 2001.
Abstract Inverse kinematics is one of the most popular method in computer graphics to control 3D multi-joint characters. In this paper, we propose an inverse kinematics algorithm that takes the characteristics of human bodies into account. The mausculoskeletal model is used to solve the redundancy of the human body. Using our method, feasible human body motion can be obtained simply by specifying the motion of several end effectors or body segments. Since muscle dynamics is taken into account, the configuration space of the human body is automatically calculated, and unrealistic postures can be avoided, it is also possible to tune the motion by changing the external load applied to the muscles. Using our method, the amount of work by the animators is reduced to create natural human animation.
5. Masaki Hilaga, Yoshihisa Shinagawa, Taku Kohmura, and Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "Topology Matching for Fully Automatic Similarity Estimation of 3D Shapes", Proceedings of SIGRAPH 2001, August 12-17, 2001, Los Angels, USA, pp.203-212, ACM Press, 1515 Broadway, New York, NY, 10036, USA, August, 2001.
Abstract There is a growing need to be able to accurately and efficiently search visual data sets, and in particular, 3D shape data sets. This paper proposes a novel technique, called Topology Matching,in which similarity between polyhedral models is quickly, accurately, and automatically calculated by comparing Multiresolutional Reeb Graphs (MRGs). The MRG thus operates well as a search key for 3D shape data sets. In particular, the MRG represents the skeletal and topological structure of a 3D shape at various levels of resolution. The MRG is constructed using a continuous function on the 3D shape, which may preferably be a function of geodesic distance because this function is invariant to translation and rotation and is also robust against changes in connectivities caused by a mesh sim-plification or subdivision. The similarity calculation between 3D shapes is processed using a coarse-to-fine strategy while preserving the consistency of the graph structures, which results in establish-ing a correspondence between the parts of objects. The similarity calculation is fast and efficient because it is not necessary to de-termine the particular pose of a 3D shape, such as a rotation, in advance. Topology Matching is particularly useful for interactively searching for a 3D object because the results of the search fit human intuition well.
Keywords: Computer Vision, Shape Recognition, 3D Search
6. Tosiyasu L. Kunii, Gleb V.Nosovskij and Vladimir L. Vecherlinin, "Two-Dimensional Diffusion Model For Diffuse Ink Painting", International Journal of Shape Modeling, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2001}, pp. 45-58, World Scientific Publishing Company, Singapore.
Abstract In our previous work the multidimensional diffusion model for computer animation of diffuse ink painting was suggested. The model, which we proposed, provided the intensity distributions very similar to those in real images. In the previous paper, only few calculations in the case of a circle as an initial zone were presented. Now we modify the model and present the results of more accurate calculations for an initial zone of arbitrary shape.
Keywords: Multidimensional diffusion processes, Colloidal liquid, Computer animation.
II. Invited papers in refereed publications
1. Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "Practicing Global Openness in Education: From Elementary Schools to Graduate Schools", Proceedings of Digital and Academic Liberty of Information (dali 2001), March 26-29, 2001, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan.
Abstract An experience-based summary of global open education is presented solely for promoting its practices. My life has been benefited from practicing open education, first at an elementary school and later at a graduate school. The openness has been local because of the lack of globalization mechanisms in education. It is fairly recent that we have effective global educations mechanisms for global interactivity and global two way communications such as the web and cyberspaces. Compared to local open education, global open education removes the boundaries of ages, organizations, nations, sexes, and disciplines. Many unseen barriers exist to prevent global open education, mostly originating from survival intuitions and fights embodied in life itself. Since the barriers are rooted in the nature of life, it is hard to practice global openness in education. Hence it is important to cooperate for us to practice it to see real advances in our knowledge.
2. Tosiyasu L. Kunii, "Topological Graphics", Proceedings of Spring Conference on Computer Graphics 2001 (SCCG 2001), (April 26-28, 2001, Budmerice Castle, Slovak Republic), pp. 2-9, (IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California, U. S. A.).
Abstract Topological graphics opens up completely new worlds in computer graphics applications. It is supported by advances in modern algebraic topology: homotopy theory and cellular spatial structures in particular. Topological graphics lays out the framework to interactive construct cyberworlds emerging on the web. It guides graphics software design to make it minimal and reusable. This progress report on our own frontier researches gives abundant of examples as well as the brief summary of the theoretical foundation.
Key words and phrases: web graphics, homotopy, algebraic topology, differential topology, a cellular model, cellular spatial structures, a cyberworld model.
The following a keynote paper on global openness in education at dali 2001 at the University of Aizu in 2001. The promised proceedings has not been published. So I post it here to publish it personally.
Practicing Global Openness in Education: From Elementary Schools to Graduate Schools
Tosiyasu L. Kunii
Department of Digital Media, Faculty of Computer and Information Sciences
IT Professional Course, Graduate School of Engineering
Hosei University
And
IT Institute
Kanazawa Institute of Technology
kunii@ieee.org;http://member.acm.org/~kunii/
Abstract
An
experience-based summary of global open education is presented solely
for promoting its practices. My life has been benefited from practicing
open education, first at an elementary school and later at a graduate
school. The openness has been local because of the lack of
globalization mechanisms in education. It is fairly recent that we have
effective global educations mechanisms for global interactivity and
global two way communications such as the web and cyberspaces. Compared
to local open education, global open education removes the boundaries
of ages, organizations, nations, sexes, and disciplines. Many unseen
barriers exist to prevent global open education, mostly originating
from survival intuitions and fights embodied in life itself. Since the
barriers are rooted in the nature of life, it is hard to practice
global openness in education. Hence it is important to cooperate for us
to practice it to see real advances in our knowledge.
dali2001reprint.pdf
The New York TimesJune 26, Sunday 1994 has reported in the Technology column:
The Creative Force BehindJapan Computer U.
BY ANDREW POLLACK
AIZU-WAKAMATSU, Japan
TOSIYASU L. KUNII, one of Japan's most prolific and outspoken computer scientists, says there is a reason that Japanese companies do not design successful computer operating systems or original microprocessors. Japan's education system, he says, churns out uncreative graduates.
Others have made similar observations, but Professor Kunii is doing something about it. He quit his job at the prestigious Tokyo University to start his own computer college.
The University of Aizu, which opened its doors in April 1993, has only about 500 students and two main departments hardware and software. It is in the middle of nowhere, three hours by train from Tokyo. But it could serve as a model for the reform of higher education in Japan.
While most Japanese universities have predominantly Japanese faculties, Aizu has professors from 14 foreign countries who account for about 60 percent of the teaching staff. This includes 16 Russians, so many that Fujitsu Ltd. declined to give the university access to one of its supercomputers because it feared violating restrictions on providing technology to what was once the Soviet Union.
Classes are taught mainly in English to prepare students to work in an international language. And students are encouraged to do individual research as freshmen, not wait until they are juniors or seniors.
It may be Japan's most electronically equipped school, with about 700 engineering workstations, enough to provide one to each student. Most of the computers are American, mainly from Sun Microsystems.
None of this would seem radical in the United States. But in Japan, "it's completely different from anything that's ever been done," said David K Kahaner, who watches technology in Japan for Washington.
But change has not been easy. While there is some camaraderie and a pioneering spirit, there is also unhappiness. Some Japanese faculty members are upset with Professor Kunii, who is president of the university, for departing from tradition. Some Western professors complain that the administration has not departed enough.
Professor Kunii, a chemist by training, drifted into computers and became one of Japan's foremost experts on data bases and graphics. At Tokyo University, he helped start the information science department.
Ideas flow from the 56 year old professor all directions, so it is hard to keep him focused. Unlike many Japanese, Professor Kunii is not modest or indirect..
The formation of the University of Aizu comes as Japan is trying to improve higher education. Until now, the system had been charged with producing an educated work force.
"The job of Japanese universities is to import knowledge, translate and disseminate it," Professor Kunii said. "Professors don't need to discover anything. It's a very easy life." But with Japan now roughly on a par with the United States and Europe, there is a growing recognition that Japan must do more pioneering research.
While an American university will try to attract the best faculty members from around the world, the staff of a typical Japanese college is almost exclusively Japanese. There are only 279 foreigners out of 40,000 fulltime professors, associate professors and lecturers at nearly 100 universities supported by the Government.
The problem for computer education, Professor Kunii said, is that in Japan computer science is not recognized as a discipline. As a result he said, Japan produces only 30 Ph.D.'s a year in pure computer science.
The University of Aizu began as a project of the prefecture, Japan's equivalent of a state, to spur economic development. Professor Kunii was recruited to serve on the planning committee for the university and later drafted to be its president. One reason so many foreign professors came here was that it was difficult to recruit Japanese academics for an unproven university. In a land of lifetime employment, many Japanese professors did not like Professor Kunii's notion that all faculty members would undergo a review for tenure after three years.
Among the foreign professors there is "enough dissatisfaction to be perceptible," said Harvey Abramson, a professor of software who previously taught at the University of British Columbia in Canada. In a Western university, he added, the faculty has a large say in how things are run. But at Aizu, the power rests with the bureaucrats from the Fukushima Prefecture Government.
Professor Abramson said that Professor Kunii, despite his wish to be a reformer, "seems hamstrung by the way things have been done here."
The Aizu faculty is doing some innovative research. Most of the Russian teachers, for instance, are leaders in the development of self timed computers, in which the components are not synchronized by a centralized clock. This new design could allow for faster operation and lower power consumption.
But many challenges must still be overcome if Aizu is to have an impact on computer science training in Japan. So far has only freshmen and sophomores. Without graduate students, it is hard for professors to do research. There are plans for a graduate school, but not for several years.
And while the prefectural government is providing research financing for three years, thereafter the professors will have to fend for themselves.
Its big draw seems to be its computers. Hachiro Meguro, a freshman, said he chose Aizu because he heard that each student would have access to a workstation 24 hours a day.
He and the others students of whom 90 percent are male often work on computers until early in the morning or on weekends, just as computer neads do in the United States. That could be the best sign yet that more creative Japanese programmers are on the way.
Tosiyasu L. Kunii, head of Aizu, stresses
research.
Recent works:
To read the papers often the following the mathematical fonts are
required:
The link to a font set "math1___.ttf"
The link to a font set "math2___.ttf"
The link to a font set "math3___.ttf"
The link to a font set "math4___.ttf"
The link to a font set "math5___.ttf"
- Integrating Local and Global Information - The updated draft paper
The Keynote Paper of 1999 International Symposium on Database Applications in -Traditional Environments (DANTE'99), November 28-30,1999, Heian Shrine, Kyoto, Japan, Organized by Research Project on Advanced Databases,in cooperation with Information Processing Society of Japan, ACM Japan, ACM SIGMOD Japan, pp. 19-24, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California, U. S. A.
A Cellular Model for Information Systems on the Web
- Integrating Local and Global Information-
Tosiyasu L. Kunii
Hosei University
3-7-2 Kajino-cho, Koganei City, Tokyo
184-8584 Japan
tosi@kunii.com
and
Hideko S. Kunii
Ricoh Company, Ltd.
1-1-17 Koishikawa, Tomin Bldg. 7F, Bunkyo-ku,Tokyo
112-0002 Japan
hkunii@src.ricoh.co.jp
Abstract
Cyberworlds are being formed on the web either intentionally or spontaneously, with or without design.Widespread and intensive local activities are melting each other on the web globally to create cyberworlds. What is called e-business including electronic financing has been conducted in cyberworlds and has crossed a national finance level in its scale. Without proper modeling, cyberworlds will continue to grow chaotic and will soon be out of human understanding. A novel information model we named a cellular model serves to globally integrate local models. As an information model, it is applicable to the category of irregular data models that capture spatio-temporal aspects as situations. Mathematically it is based on cellular spatial structures in a homotopy theoretical framework and is an extension of graph theory.
Key words and phrases: a cellular model,cellular spatial structures, a web information model, a cyberworld model, integrating local models globally, a situation model, web information mining, homotopy theory.
Modeling cyberworlds
Cyberworlds are information worlds being formed on the web either intentionally or spontaneously, with or without design. Cyberworlds as information worlds are either virtual or real, and can be both. New worlds such as cyberworlds demand a theoretical ground to get them modeled properly. In terms of information modeling,the ground is far above the level of integrating spatial database models and temporal database models. We take invariants as the ground. Considering cyberworlds as a type of spaces that include time as an irreversible space, we show that an appropriate choice of invariants that consists of dimensions as degrees of freedom and their connectivity to tell how different dimensional spaces are connected.
Generally speaking, what we need to do to model cyberworlds consists of the following four steps.
First, we characterize cyberworlds to identify the differences from and commonality with the real world we live. The most distinct difference is in the speed of growth, and hence in the complexity. This means extreme concurrency linking local worlds into global web worlds and also speed close to that of light. Light speed on the web signifies the web power far beyond any great powers in human history [1-4, 7]. Everybody working on the web in the world is a constructor and destructor of cyberworlds.
Secondly, we then find appropriate modeling methods to characterize the differences and commonality.Because of the extreme complexity and the speed of changes, the modeling methods need to be based on a hierarchy of abstractions to minimize the size of modeling, and also the hierarchy needs to be an incrementally modular abstraction hierarchy of invariants to identify the unchanging properties from the rapidly varying cyberworlds.
Third, we then turn the modeling methods into a design. It is a challenging task to realize such invariants-based modeling methods into one design. Generally, the design requires an appropriate choice of invariants, followed by a particular information structures and operations. For instance, an abstraction hierarchy of invariants is designed as an inheritance hierarchy of invariants . Still researches on this belong to open problems. So far, our researches have led us to a pair of invariants:dimensions as degrees of freedom and their connectivity. The information structures are cellular spatial structures and their operations such as cell composition and cell decomposition [7, 8].
Fourthly and finally, we implement the design as an information model named cellular model. The cellular model encompasses the capabilities of existing various data models,and also guarantees the continuity to preserve cell boundaries, cell dimensionality and cell connectivity. It is expected that the cellular model represents cyberworlds consistently and proves their validity. The ways the cellular model works include bottom up, top down, and middle to top and bottom approaches.
1 Set theoretical equivalence relations;
In terms of the abstraction of invariants hierarchically organized from general to specific to realize modular and incremental design and hence an inheritance hierarchy of invariants of cyberworlds, the following is a reasonable case of an abstraction hierarchybased on the abstraction hierarchy of equivalence relations in mathematics:
1 An extension level, a homotopy level as a special case;
2 A set level;
3 A topology level, a graph theoretical level as a special case;
4. A cellular structured space level;
5 An information model level;
6 A presentation level.
[1] P. Kennedy, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, Random House, New York, 1987.
[2] T. L. Kunii, Pax Japonica (in Japanese), President Co., Ltd., Tokyo, October 1988.
[3] T. L. Kunii, Creating a New World inside Computers -Methods and Implications- Proc. of the Seventh Annual Conference of the Australian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE 89), G. Bishop and J. Baker (eds.), pp. 28-51,Gold Coast, Australia, December 11-13, 1989, [also available as Technical Report 89-034, Dept. of Information Science, The University of Tokyo].
[4] T. L. Kunii, The Architecture of Synthetic Worlds, Cyberworlds, T. L. Kunii and A. Luciani (eds.),pp19-30, Springer, Tokyo, 1998.
[5] H. - J. Baues, Homotopy Types and Homology, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996.
[6] F. Fritsch and R. A. Piccinini, Cellular Structures in Topology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,1990.
[7] T. L. Kunii, Homotopy Modeling as World Modeling, Proceedings of Computer Graphics International '99 (CGI99), (June 7-11, 1999, Canmore, Alberta, Canada) pp. 130-141, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California, U. S. A.
[8] T. L. Kunii, Valid Computational Shape Modeling: Design and Implementation, International Journal of Shape Modeling, World Scientific, December 1999.
[9] P. P. T. Chen, The Entity-Relationship Model - toward a unified view of data, ACM Trans. Database Systems, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 223-234, 1976.
[10] H. S. Kunii, Graph Data Model, Springer-Verlag,Tokyo, Berlin, New York, 1990.
[11] E. F. Codd, Relational Model for Large Shared Data Banks, Communications of the ACM, Vol.13, No. 6, pp.377-387, June 1970.
[12] J. H. C. Whitehead, Combinatorial Homotopy I, Bulletin of American Mathematical Society,vol. 55, pp. 213-245, 1949.
[13] J. H. C. Whitehead, Agebraic Homotopy Theory, Proceedings of International Congress of Mathematics, II, Harvard University Press, pp. 354-357, 1950.
2
VALID COMPUTATIONAL SHAPE MODELING:
DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
International Journal of Shape Modeling,World Scientific, Vol. 5, No.
2, pp. 123-133,December 1999.
VALID COMPUTATIONAL SHAPE MODELING:
DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
TOSIYASU L. KUNII
kunii@ieee.org
Current shape models are targeted at visual presentations for display and design. They lack the validity in their shape properties such as topological-, geometrical- and visual- equivalence,and even continuity. Cellular modeling is a new computational modeling that provides a computationally valid shape model. It also provides a foundation to share shapes among varied applications for extensive reuse. The implementation of cellular modeling via cell attachment tables complies with the standard relational data model. Examples are shown to demonstrate the value of cellular modeling in comparison with the existing typical shape models such as wire frame models, boundary models and solid models. Design and implementation of the cellular modeling examples using cell attachment instance tables are presented.
Keywords: Valid shape modeling, cellular spatial structures, shape equivalence, continuity, cellular modeling design, cellular modeling implementation, cell attachment instance tables, cellular modeling as a standard shape database model.
Introduction
Brief statement of the problems confronted us in in late 60'. There were a number of problems we met when we built raster graphics in late 60' with a frame buffer, as outlined in our paper presented at the first SIGGRAPH conference in 1974 [1]. The most fundamental problems included those of computational shape modeling: valid and invalid. Invalid computational shape modeling means it can compute shapes for raster display that look like fine but are ill defined such that essential shape properties as shape equivalence, shape invariants and continuity are lost. For designing and manufacturing purposes, and also for shape information reusability, such invalidity obviously poses serious troubles and defects. After almost 30 years, the problems have not been solved, or even have not been recognized in research community as serious problems. The reason is simply explained from a modeling point of view. The existing shape modeling usually starts from geometry. There are rich and excellent research results on geometrical shape modeling. If we turn our eyes to the topological level of shape modeling that should be inherited by geometrical shape modeling, very limited research have been conducted. At their bests, what have been meant by topology have been almost within the domain of graph theory. Researchers often discuss the Euler characteristics as graph theoretical invariants, discovered by Euler around two and half centuries ago, but not much more.
Let us look at simplest two cases.
Display assumptions.Here, we set important assumptions for computer display. A point and a line have no size properties, and cannot be displayed on a computer graphics screen as they are. In the following, then, we assume a symbolical display method that presents a point and a line as a pixel and a series of pixels respectively to make them displayable. To preserve shape boundaries, we further assume, we display overlapped shape boundaries separately without arbitrarily taking their unions.
Any science starts from a set of assumptions,then goes to formulates or design models, and finally ends by realizing the results through implementation. So is this research.
Discussions and Conclusions
Basic research is a lonely job. Although I have used cellular models so far, it has been only prtially stisfactory. I have been wondering at the problems we were confronted 30 years ago since then, alone. A fundamental and hence basic research requires a life long lonely mental journey any way. Valid shape modeling has solved the problems postulated at the beginning, as shown so far. The type of shape equivalence presented here is preserved at all the levels of shape representations: homotopical, topological,geometrical and visualization levels. It has the following additional advantages:Valid shape modelingturns shape components into reusable resources as cells and store them in shape databases that conform with the standard data modeling of the relational model so that we can reassemble them to create new shapes freely. Valid shape modeling also guarantees the shape databases to be valid; Communication of shape information enjoys high compression ratios by sending only the cellular component identifiers and cellular attachment operation identifiers as needed. This is shown in the implementation as cell attachment instance tables.
Important findings are related to a pair of cellular spatial algorithms and cellular spatial structures:
Cell decomposition and composition algorithms and cellular spatial structures.
A more comprehensive theory has been completed and is to appear elsewhere. Far wider and deeper applications are studied currently such as the visualization of financial trading including financial structural changes and M&A structures, and of flexible shapes. It is actually the case that cyberworlds built as worlds of information need to be composed as valid worlds. The composition is achieved based on the theoretical framework presented in this research. High demands are expected to come from emerging major social activities such as electronic financing,electronic commerce, media intensive political campaigns, and complex social system designs and manufacturing. They are all shifting into information worlds often called cyberworlds.
Kunii, T. L., Amano, T., Arisawa, H. , S.: An Interactive Fashion Design System INFADS Computers and Graphics, Vol. 1, No. 4-A, pp. 297-302 (1975) [as Proceedings of the 1st SIGGRAPH Conference . The paper was presented at the Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (1st SIGGRAPH Conference), July 15-17, 1974,sponsored by the University of Colorado Computing Center and ACM/SIGGRAPH.]
Kunii, T. L.: Graphics with Shape Property Inheritance Proceedings of Pacific Graphics '98 (PG98), October 26-29, 1998, Singapore, pp. 2-6, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos,California, U. S. A.
Kunii, T. L.: The 3rd Industrial Revolution through Integrated Intelligent Processing Systems, Proceedings of IEEE First International Conference on Intelligent Processing Systems, October 28-31, 1997, Beijing, China (ICIPSE?97), pp. 1-6, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, NY,U.S. A.
Fritsch, F. and Piccinini, R. A.: Cellular Structures in Topology, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,1990.
Kunii, T. L. and Wachi, T.: Topological Dress Making as Fashion Media Modeling, Proceedings of MultiMedia Modeling Conference(MMM98) , October 12-15, 1998, Lausanne, Switzerland,pp. 148-152, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, California,U.S.A.
Baues, H. - J.: Homotopy Types and Homology, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996.
Whitehead, J. H. C.: Algebraic Homotopy Theory,Proceedings of International Congress of Mathematics,II, Harvard University Press, pp. 354-357, 1950.
Kunii, T. L.: Computational Shape Modeling:Valid vs. Invalid, Proceedings of International Conference on Shape Modeling and Applications '99 (SMI99), (March 1-4, 1999, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan),pp. 2-7, IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos,California, U. S. A.
Kunii, T. L. and Luciani, A. (eds.): Cyberworlds,Springer-Verlag, 1998, Tokyo.
The lists of papers and professional activities
The lists is
as of April, 2004. The list after that is posted above on this home
page. The dvi version is small and light. The pdf version is
heavy to download. The dvi version can be read by setting
up the LaTeX environment to handle dvi files. The pdf version
can be read by Adobe AcrobatReader, a free software downloadable from
http://www.adobe.com.
The link to "pub-letter.dvi"
The link to "pub-letter.pdf".
The
last update:
February, 2010 Monday, 18:05 JST.
