Speech recognition (SR) systems such as Siri or Google Now have become an increasingly popular human-computer interaction method, and have turned various systems into voice controllable systems(VCS). Prior work on attacking VCS shows that the hidden voice commands that are incomprehensible to people can control the systems. Hidden voice commands, though hidden, are nonetheless audible. In this work, we design a completely inaudible attack, DolphinAttack, that modulates voice commands on ultrasonic carriers (e.g., f > 20 kHz) to achieve inaudibility. By leveraging the nonlinearity of the microphone circuits, the modulated low frequency audio commands can be successfully demodulated, recovered, and more importantly interpreted by the speech recognition systems. We validate DolphinAttack on popular speech recognition systems, including Siri, Google Now, Samsung S Voice, Huawei HiVoice, Cortana and Alexa. By injecting a sequence of inaudible voice commands, we show a few proof-of-concept attacks, which include activating Siri to initiate a FaceTime call on iPhone, activating Google Now to switch the phone to the airplane mode, and even manipulating the navigation system in an Audi a
Research in machine learning, mobile robotics, and autonomous driving is accelerated by the availability of high quality annotated data. To this end, we release the Audi Autonomous Driving Dataset (A2D2). Our dataset consists of simultaneously recorded images and 3D point clouds, together with 3D bounding boxes, semantic segmentation, instance segmentation, and data extracted from the automotive bus. Our sensor suite consists of six cameras and five LiDAR units, providing full 360 degree coverage. The recorded data is time synchronized and mutually registered. Annotations are for non-sequential frames: 41,277 frames with semantic segmentation image and point cloud labels, of which 12,497 frames also have 3D bounding box annotations for objects within the field of view of the front camera. In addition, we provide 392,556 sequential frames of unannotated sensor data for recordings in three cities in the south of Germany. These sequences contain several loops. Faces and vehicle number plates are blurred due to GDPR legislation and to preserve anonymity. A2D2 is made available under the CC BY-ND 4.0 license, permitting commercial use subject to the terms of the license. Data and furthe
Although semantic 3D city models are internationally available and becoming increasingly detailed, the incorporation of material information remains largely untapped. However, a structured representation of materials and their physical properties could substantially broaden the application spectrum and analytical capabilities for urban digital twins. At the same time, the growing number of repeated mobile laser scans of cities and their street spaces yields a wealth of observations influenced by the material characteristics of the corresponding surfaces. To leverage this information, we propose radiometric fingerprints of object surfaces by grouping LiDAR observations reflected from the same semantic object under varying distances, incident angles, environmental conditions, sensors, and scanning campaigns. Our study demonstrates how 312.4 million individual beams acquired across four campaigns using five LiDAR sensors on the Audi Autonomous Driving Dataset (A2D2) vehicle can be automatically associated with 6368 individual objects of the semantic 3D city model. The model comprises a comprehensive and semantic representation of four inner-city streets at Level of Detail (LOD) 3 with
While battery aging is commonly studied at the cell-level, evaluating aging and performance within battery modules remains a critical challenge. Testing cells within fully assembled modules requires hardware solutions to access cell-level information without compromising module integrity. In this paper, we design and develop a hardware testing platform to monitor and control the internal cells of battery modules contained in the Audi e-tron battery pack. The testing is performed across all 36 modules of the pack. The platform integrates voltage sensors, balancing circuitry, and a micro-controller to enable safe, simultaneous cell screening without disassembling the modules. Using the proposed testing platform, cell voltage imbalances within each module are constrained to a defined reference value, and cell signals can be safely accessed, enabling accurate and non-invasive cell-level state-of-health assessments. On a broader scale, our solution allows for the quantification of internal heterogeneity within modules, providing valuable insights for both first- and second-life applications and supporting efficient battery pack maintenance and repurposing.
This study investigates the aerodynamic performance of an Audi A4 sedan using CFD analysis. A 3D model was developed in SolidWorks and validated against DrivAer Notchback wind-tunnel data, showing only a 3.25 percent deviation in drag coefficient (Cd). Ride height varied from 1.336 to 1.536 m and rake angle from 0 to 5 degrees, across four Reynolds numbers. Gradient Boosting emerged as the most accurate predictive model (R square = 0.97 for Cd and 0.96 for lift coefficient, Cl), outperforming Random Forest and LightGBM. Differential Evolution optimization was performed under balanced, drag-focused, and downforce-focused conditions. Reynolds number had minimal impact on optimum location; therefore, detailed results are reported for one Reynolds number, with other Re showing similar trends. The baseline geometry exhibited Cd = 0.313 and Cl = 0.0288. Balanced optimization achieved Cd = 0.287 and Cl = - 0.0826. Minimum drag condition reached Cd = 0.285 with slight positive lift (Cl = 0.0142), while maximum downforce optimization reached Cl = - 0.1084 with a 6.71 percent drag penalty (Cd = 0.334). Near-optimal solutions were found within ride heights of 1.341 to 1.365 m and rakes of 0.1
Advances in quantum computing over the last two decades have required sophisticated mathematical frameworks to deepen the understanding of quantum algorithms. In this review, we introduce the theory of Lie groups and their algebras to analyze two fundamental problems in quantum computing as done in some recent works. Firstly, we describe the geometric formulation of quantum computational complexity, given by the length of the shortest path on the $SU(2^n)$ manifold with respect to a right-invariant Finsler metric. Secondly, we deal with the barren plateau phenomenon in Variational Quantum Algorithms (VQAs), where we use the Dynamical Lie Algebra (DLA) to identify algebraic sources of untrainability
Effective leveraging of real-world driving datasets is crucial for enhancing the training of autonomous driving systems. While Offline Reinforcement Learning enables training autonomous vehicles with such data, most available datasets lack meaningful reward labels. Reward labeling is essential as it provides feedback for the learning algorithm to distinguish between desirable and undesirable behaviors, thereby improving policy performance. This paper presents a novel approach for generating human-aligned reward labels. The proposed approach addresses the challenge of absent reward signals in the real-world datasets by generating labels that reflect human judgment and safety considerations. The reward function incorporates an adaptive safety component that is activated by analyzing semantic segmentation maps, enabling the autonomous vehicle to prioritize safety over efficiency in potential collision scenarios. The proposed method is applied to an occluded pedestrian crossing scenario with varying pedestrian traffic levels, using simulation data. When the generated rewards were used to train various Offline Reinforcement Learning algorithms, each model produced a meaningful policy, d
In this work, we propose a large-graph limit estimate of the matching coverage for several matching algorithms, on general graphs generated by the configuration model. For a wide class of {\em local} matching algorithms, namely, algorithms that only use information on the immediate neighborhood of the explored nodes, we propose a joint construction of the graph by the configuration model, and of the resulting matching on the latter graph. This leads to a generalization in infinite dimension of the differential equation method of Wormald: We keep track of the matching algorithm over time by a measure-valued CTMC, for which we prove the convergence, to the large-graph limit, to a deterministic hydrodynamic limit, identified as the unique solution of a system of ODE's in the space of integer measures. Then, the asymptotic proportion of nodes covered by the matching appears as a simple function of that solution. We then make this solution explicit for three particular local algorithms: the classical {\sc greedy} algorithm, and then the {\sc uni-min} and {\sc uni-max} algorithms, two variants of the greedy algorithm that select, as neighbor of any explored node, its neighbor having the
Textual representations based on pre-trained language models are key, especially in few-shot learning scenarios. What makes a representation good for text classification? Is it due to the geometric properties of the space or because it is well aligned with the task? We hypothesize the second claim. To test it, we develop a task alignment score based on hierarchical clustering that measures alignment at different levels of granularity. Our experiments on text classification validate our hypothesis by showing that task alignment can explain the classification performance of a given representation.
During liver transplantation, ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is inevitable and decreases the overall success of the surgery. While guidelines exist, there is no reliable way to quantitatively assess the degree of IRI present in the liver. Our recent study has shown a correlation between the bile-to-plasma ratio of FDA-approved sodium fluorescein (SF) and the degree of hepatic IRI, presumably due to IRI-induced decrease in the activity of the hepatic multidrug resistance-associated protein 2 (MRP2); however, the contribution of SF blood clearance via the bile is still convoluted with other factors, such as renal clearance. In this work, we sought to computationally model SF blood clearance via the bile. First, we converted extant SF fluorescence data from rat whole blood, plasma, and bile to concentrations using calibration curves. Next, based on these SF concentration data, we generated a liver-centric, physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model of SF liver uptake and clearance via the bile. Model simulations show that SF bile concentration is highly sensitive to a change in the activity of hepatic MPR2. These simulations suggest that SF bile clearance along with the PBP
We introduce a strategy to develop optimally designed fields for continuous dynamical decoupling. Using our methodology, we obtain the optimal continuous field configuration to maximize the fidelity of a general one-qubit quantum gate. To achieve this, considering dephasing-noise perturbations, we employ an auxiliary qubit instead of the boson bath to implement a purification scheme, which results in unitary dynamics. Employing the sub-Riemannian geometry framework for the two-qubit unitary group, we derive and numerically solve the geodesic equations, obtaining the optimal time-dependent control Hamiltonian. Also, due to the extended time required to find solutions to the geodesic equations, we train a neural network on a subset of geodesic solutions, enabling us to promptly generate the time-dependent control Hamiltonian for any desired gate, which is crucial in circuit optimization.
Virtual testing is a crucial task to ensure safety in autonomous driving, and sensor simulation is an important task in this domain. Most current LiDAR simulations are very simplistic and are mainly used to perform initial tests, while the majority of insights are gathered on the road. In this paper, we propose a lightweight approach for more realistic LiDAR simulation that learns a real sensor's behavior from test drive data and transforms this to the virtual domain. The central idea is to cast the simulation into an image-to-image translation problem. We train our pix2pix based architecture on two real world data sets, namely the popular KITTI data set and the Audi Autonomous Driving Dataset which provide both, RGB and LiDAR images. We apply this network on synthetic renderings and show that it generalizes sufficiently from real images to simulated images. This strategy enables to skip the sensor-specific, expensive and complex LiDAR physics simulation in our synthetic world and avoids oversimplification and a large domain-gap through the clean synthetic environment.
Annotating large collections of textual data can be time consuming and expensive. That is why the ability to train models with limited annotation budgets is of great importance. In this context, it has been shown that under tight annotation budgets the choice of data representation is key. The goal of this paper is to better understand why this is so. With this goal in mind, we propose a metric that measures the extent to which a given representation is structurally aligned with a task. We conduct experiments on several text classification datasets testing a variety of models and representations. Using our proposed metric we show that an efficient representation for a task (i.e. one that enables learning from few samples) is a representation that induces a good alignment between latent input structure and class structure.
Autonomous vehicles are growing rapidly, in well-developed nations like America, Europe, and China. Tech giants like Google, Tesla, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes are building highly efficient self-driving vehicles. However, the technology is still not mainstream for developing nations like India, Thailand, Africa, etc., In this paper, we present a thorough comparison of the existing datasets based on well-developed nations as well as Indian roads. We then developed a new dataset "Indian Roads Dataset" (IRD) having more than 8000 annotations extracted from 3000+ images shot using a 64 (megapixel) camera. All the annotations are manually labelled adhering to the strict rules of annotations. Real-time video sequences have been captured from two different cities in India namely New Delhi and Chandigarh during the day and night-light conditions. Our dataset exceeds previous Indian traffic light datasets in size, annotations, and variance. We prove the amelioration of our dataset by providing an extensive comparison with existing Indian datasets. Various dataset criteria like size, capturing device, a number of cities, and variations of traffic light orientations are considered. The dataset ca
Given the promising features of the recently proposed Barcelona-Catania-Paris (BCP) functional \cite{Baldo.08}, it is the purpose of this paper to still improve on it. It is, for instance, shown that the number of open parameters can be reduced from 4-5 to 2-3, i.e. by practically a factor of two. One parameter is tightly fixed by a fine-tuning of the bulk, a second by the surface energy. The third is the strength of the spin-orbit potential on which the final result does not depend within the scatter of the values used in Skyrme and Gogny like functionals. An energy rms value of 1.58 MeV is obtained from a fit of these three parameters to the 579 measured masses reported in the Audi and Waspra 2003 compilation. This rms value compares favorably with the one obtained using other successful mean field theories. Charge radii are also well reproduced when compared with experiment. The energies of some excited states, mostly the isoscalar giant monopole resonances, are studied within this model as well.
We study the problem of safety verification of direct perception neural networks, where camera images are used as inputs to produce high-level features for autonomous vehicles to make control decisions. Formal verification of direct perception neural networks is extremely challenging, as it is difficult to formulate the specification that requires characterizing input as constraints, while the number of neurons in such a network can reach millions. We approach the specification problem by learning an input property characterizer which carefully extends a direct perception neural network at close-to-output layers, and address the scalability problem by a novel assume-guarantee based verification approach. The presented workflow is used to understand a direct perception neural network (developed by Audi) which computes the next waypoint and orientation for autonomous vehicles to follow.
An exponential dependence of the fragmentation cross-section on the average binding energy is observed and reproduced with a statistical model. The observed functional dependence is robust and allows the extraction of binding energies from measured cross-sections. From the systematics of 75,77,78,79Cu isotope cross-sections have been extracted. They are 636.94 +/- 0.40 MeV, 647.1 +/- 0.4 MeV, 651.6 +/- 0.4 MeV and 657.8 +/- 0.5 MeV, respectively. Specifically, the uncertainty of the binding energy of 75Cu is reduced from 980 keV (listed value in the 2003 mass table of Audi and Wapstra) to 400 keV. The predicted cross-sections of two near drip-line nuclei, 39Na and 40Mg, from the fragmentation of 48Ca are discussed.
The atomic mass difference of 163Ho and 163Dy has been directly measured with the Penning trap mass spectrometer SHIPTRAP applying the novel phase imaging ion cyclotron resonance technique. Our measurement has solved the long standing problem of large discrepancies in the Q value of the electron capture in 163Ho determined by different techniques. Our measured mass difference shifts the current Q value of 2555(16) eV evaluated in the Atomic Mass Evaluation 2012 [G. Audi et al., Chin. Phys. C 36, 1157 (2012)] by more than 7 sigma to 2833(30stat)(15sys) eV/c2. With the new mass difference it will be possible, e.g., to reach in the first phase of the ECHo experiment a statistical sensitivity to the neutrino mass below 10 eV, which will reduce its present upper limit by more than an order of magnitude.
Can engineering neural networks be approached in a disciplined way similar to how engineers build software for civil aircraft? We present nn-dependability-kit, an open-source toolbox to support safety engineering of neural networks for autonomous driving systems. The rationale behind nn-dependability-kit is to consider a structured approach (via Goal Structuring Notation) to argue the quality of neural networks. In particular, the tool realizes recent scientific results including (a) novel dependability metrics for indicating sufficient elimination of uncertainties in the product life cycle, (b) formal reasoning engine for ensuring that the generalization does not lead to undesired behaviors, and (c) runtime monitoring for reasoning whether a decision of a neural network in operation is supported by prior similarities in the training data. A proprietary version of nn-dependability-kit has been used to improve the quality of a level-3 autonomous driving component developed by Audi for highway maneuvers.
Due to the increasing connectivity of modern vehicles, collected data is no longer only stored in the vehicle itself but also transmitted to car manufacturers and vehicle assistant apps. This development opens up new possibilities for digital forensics in criminal investigations involving modern vehicles. This paper deals with the digital forensic analysis of vehicle assistant apps of eight car manufacturers. We reconstruct the driver's activities based on the data stored on the smartphones and in the manufacturer's backend. For this purpose, data of the Android and iOS apps of the car manufacturers Audi, BMW, Ford, Mercedes, Opel, Seat, Tesla, and Volkswagen were extracted from the smartphone and examined using digital forensic methods in accordance with lawful government-approved forensics guidelines. Additionally, manufacturer data was retrieved using Subject Access Requests. Using the extensive data gathered, we successfully reconstruct trips and refueling processes, determine parking positions and duration, and track the locking and unlocking of the vehicle. These findings show that the digital forensic investigation of smartphone applications is a useful addition to vehicle f