AESTHESIS
Multimodal Perceptual Physics & Material Laboratory
Material reality cannot be simulated with decorative CSS opacity and arbitrary blur. ai/aesthesis grounds interface perception in electromagnetic wave equations, volumetric radiative transfer, dual-term shadow geometry, and non-linear psychophysics — backed by 10 Rust engine crates and a canonical catalog of 94 physical materials.
1. The Frontier Surface Inspector
Examine any of the 94 catalogued physical materials in real time. Manipulate the directional light azimuth, inspect closed-form Fresnel reflectance curves, audit APCA-W3 contrast gates, simulate color vision deficiency (CVD), and dispatch calibrated tactile and acoustic micro-transients.
AESTHESIS FRONTIER PERCEPTUAL SURFACE INSPECTOR
Live mathematical evaluation of 94 physical materials across 6 families: optical physics, APCA-W3 contrast, CVD simulation, and multimodal transients.
"An agent cannot be the judge of itself. The sensory membrane enforces continuous physical laws: energy conservation in GGX microfacets, APCA dead-band contrast bounds, and strict invariant fences."
APCA-W3 Contrast Telemetry APCA-W3
Color Vision Deficiency (CVD Simulation) Brettel / Machado
Multimodal Sensory Probe LRA + EBU R128
2. Mathematical Formulations & Wave Mechanics
Aesthesis enforces physical invariants without heuristics or mock formulas. Every visual parameter corresponds to an empirical electromagnetic, radiative, or psychophysical equation.
A. Electromagnetic Wave Optics & Fresnel Mechanics
aesthesis-opticsDielectrics (glasses, polymers) exhibit low normal reflectance (R₀ ≈ 0.04) rising steeply at grazing incidence (R(85°) → 1.0), governed by Schlick's formulation:
R₀ = ((n₁ - n₂) / (n₁ + n₂))²
For conductors (Drude metals), the complex refractive index ñ = n + ik accounts for free electron damping, producing high normal reflectance (R₀ > 0.85) and spectral tinting:
B. Radiative Transfer & Mie Turbidity
aesthesis-materialsLight passing through absorbing dielectric media decays exponentially with slab thickness d according to the Beer-Lambert extinction law:
σₑ(λ) = σₐ(λ) + σₛ(λ)
In turbid media (opal, mist, colloids), micro-particles induce phase-dependent Mie scattering characterized by the Henyey-Greenstein angular phase function:
C. Dual-Term Shadow Geometry
aesthesis-shadowsGeneric CSS drop shadows collapse contact occlusion and soft penumbras into a single blurry offset. Aesthesis decomposes shadows into two physically orthogonal terms:
r_c ∈ [2, 6]px, η_c ∈ [0.45, 0.70] (Dense Contact)
r_p ∈ [16, 48]px, η_p ∈ [0.18, 0.35] (Diffused Penumbra)
Both terms are strictly coupled to the global directional light vector L = (cos θ, sin θ), synchronizing specular lobe sweep, rim gradient, and shadow trajectory.
D. Non-Linear Psychophysics & Dead-Band Gating
aesthesis-perceptualHuman visual perception is non-linear and polarity-dependent. APCA-W3 models lightness adaptation using power-law compression ($Y^0.56$ / $Y^0.65$), preventing contrast illusions:
Lc = (Y_txt^0.56 - Y_bg^0.56) · 1.14 (Dark Mode)
The Dead-Band Gate identifies the hazardous middle-luminance zone ($L \in [0.44, 0.60]$) where font edge acuity collapses, pulling text color to canonical contrast ($|L_c| \ge 60$).
3. The 10 Rust Engine Crates of ai/aesthesis
The core architecture is implemented in native Rust in ai/aesthesis, providing zero-cost dimensional safety, SIMD optical pipelines, and strict falsification suites.
Provides dimensionally sound SI types (nm, µm, Kelvin, rad, Joules, steradians) and enforces non-negative physical assertions at compile time.
Closed-form evaluation of Schlick Fresnel reflectance, complex dielectric/conductor equations (n + ik), Cauchy/Sellmeier dispersion, and Beer-Lambert absorption.
Physical constant database across 6 families: Dispersive Glasses (12), Drude Metals (19), Thin-Film Coatings (21), Oxides (15), Turbid Mie Media (18), and UI Presets (9).
Separates contact ambient occlusion from soft ambient penumbra, governed by a unified directional light vector (θ = 118°) coupled to surface specular lobes.
Implements Advanced Perceptual Contrast Algorithm (APCA-W3) power-law compression with dead-band gating (L ∈ [0.44, 0.60] exclusion) guaranteeing |Lc| ≥ 60.
Spectral-to-sRGB/Display-P3 integration, OKLab transformations, and Brettel 1997 / Machado 2009 LMS cone confusion simulations guaranteeing ΔE ≥ 15.0.
Second-order damped harmonic oscillator simulation for Linear Resonant Actuators (f0 = 180 Hz, τ = 12 ms) with strict electrical energy tracking (E ≤ 2.4 mJ).
Micro-acoustic tactile confirmation synthesized via Web Audio API, psychoacoustically calibrated to -28 LUFS integrated loudness to prevent cognitive fatigue.
White furnace automated verification (R + T + A = 1.0) and Helmholtz reciprocity checks (fr(ωi → ωo) = fr(ωo → ωi)) across all registered materials.
Automated CI regression suite verifying that any perceptual divergence from physical laboratory ground truth exceeds ΔE2000 > 0.80 causes an immediate build failure.
4. The 6 Physical Families & The Complete 94-Material Catalog
The 94 materials catalogued in aesthesis-materials::catalog::adapters are derived from experimental optical databases (Johnson & Christy, Rakić, Palik, and Schott Glass).
Dispersive Glasses
12 MaterialsBK7 Crown, Fused Silica, Dense Flint, Fluorite, Sapphire
Cauchy & Sellmeier chromatic dispersion n(λ), Abbe number Vd ∈ [25, 95], internal transmittance T = exp(-σ·d).
Drude & Conductive Metals
19 MaterialsGold, Silver, Copper, Platinum, Aluminum, Titanium, Tungsten
Complex refractive index ñ = n + ik, plasma frequency ωp, high extinction coefficient k > 3.0, characteristic colored specular sheen.
Thin-Film Optical Coatings
21 MaterialsBroadband AR (MgF2), Dichroic RGB Splitters, Bragg Mirrors
Airy multi-beam interference summation, optical thickness phase shift δ = 2π n d cos(θ) / λ, selective spectral reflection.
Transition Metal Oxides
15 MaterialsRutile TiO2, Fused SiO2, HfO2, Ta2O5, Alumina, VO2 Phase-Change
Wide bandgap semiconductor dielectric constants, high refractive indices (n up to 2.61), minimal VIS absorption.
Turbid Mie Scattering Media
18 MaterialsAtmospheric Rayleigh, Smoked Glass, Fogged Opal, Colloidal Milk
Henyey-Greenstein anisotropic phase function p(cos Θ), size parameter x = 2πr/λ, scattering coefficient σs and forward asymmetry g.
Sovereign UI Presets
9 MaterialsSovereign Obsidian, Clear Glass, Thick Prism, Frosted Glass, Aerogel
Validated interface materials coupling optical transmission, APCA-W3 contrast guarantees, and directional dual-term shadows.
5. Empirical Invariants & Automated Falsification
In TELHAR, perception is subject to the same falsification criteria as security or consensus. The following invariants are tested continuously; any regression immediately blocks compilation.
| Physical Invariant | Governing Formulation | Operational Criterion | Tolerance Limit | CI Gate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Furnace Energy Conservation | R(θ) + T(θ) + A(θ) = 1.0 | Outgoing radiance never exceeds incident radiance across 4π steradians. | ε < 1e-6 | VERIFIED |
| Helmholtz BSDF Reciprocity | fr(ωi → ωo) = fr(ωo → ωi) | Surface scattering is invariant under time reversal of optical paths. | ε < 1e-5 | VERIFIED |
| APCA-W3 Dead-Band Gate | Lbg ∉ [0.44, 0.60] for body text | Mid-luminance text collision is strictly prohibited; body text achieves |Lc| ≥ 60. | |Lc| ≥ 60.0 | VERIFIED |
| CVD Universal Contrast Floor | ΔE(CVD_sim) ≥ 15.0 | Protanopia, Deuteranopia, and Tritanopia maintain perceptible visual boundaries. | ΔE ≥ 15.0 | VERIFIED |
| Acoustic Loudness Ergonomics | LUFS = -28.0 ± 1.0 (EBU R128) | Auditory feedback remains subordinate to user attention without acoustic fatigue. | Peak ≤ -1 dBFS | VERIFIED |
| LRA Transient Thermal Constraint | E_pulse = ∫ V(t)·I(t) dt ≤ 2.4 mJ | Mechanical actuation pulse prevents actuator saturation and coil heating. | E ≤ 2.4 mJ | VERIFIED |
| Physical Delta-E Tolerance | ΔE2000(model, measured) ≤ 0.80 | Mathematical prediction aligns with spectrophotometric ground truth. | ΔE2000 ≤ 0.80 | VERIFIED |
Integrated Surface Physics Across TELHAR
Aesthesis is not a standalone demo: it powers the high-performance terminal user interface in product/telhar-cli and the cross-platform web surfaces in platform/experience.