Hand tracking in high-speed camera videos

Visual object tracking has been one of the most popular research topics in the field of computer vision recently. Specifically, hand tracking has attracted significant attention since it would enable many useful practical applications. However, hand tracking is still a very challenging problem which cannot be considered solved. The fact that almost every aspect of hand appearance can change is the fundamental reason for this difficulty. This thesis focused on 2D-based hand tracking in high-speed camera videos. During the project, a toolbox for this purpose was collected which contains nine different tracking methods. In the experiments, these methods were tested and compared against each other with both high-speed videos recorded during the project and publicly available normal speed videos. The results revealed that tracking accuracies varied considerably depending on the video and the method. Therefore, no single method was clearly the best in all videos, but three methods, CT, HT, and TLD, performed better than the others overall. Moreover, the results provide insights about the suitability of each method to different types and situations of hand tracking.

Depth sensors in augmented reality solutions. Literature review

The emergence of depth sensors has made it possible to track – not only monocular cues – but also the actual depth values of the environment. This is especially useful in augmented reality solutions, where the position and orientation (pose) of the observer need to be accurately determined. This allows virtual objects to be installed to the view of the user through, for example, a screen of a tablet or augmented reality glasses (e.g. Google glass, etc.). Although the early 3D sensors have been physically quite large, the size of these sensors is decreasing, and possibly – eventually – a 3D sensor could be embedded – for example – to augmented reality glasses. The wider subject area considered in this review is 3D SLAM methods, which take advantage of the 3D information available by modern RGB-D sensors, such as Microsoft Kinect. Thus the review for SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) and 3D tracking in augmented reality is a timely subject. We also try to find out the limitations and possibilities of different tracking methods, and how they should be improved, in order to allow efficient integration of the methods to the augmented reality solutions of the future.

Level Set Methods in Image Processing

This thesis gives an overview of the use of the level set methods in the field of image science. The similar fast marching method is discussed for comparison, also the narrow band and the particle level set methods are introduced. The level set method is a numerical scheme for representing, deforming and recovering structures in an arbitrary dimensions. It approximates and tracks the moving interfaces, dynamic curves and surfaces. The level set method does not define how and why some boundary is advancing the way it is but simply represents and tracks the boundary. The principal idea of the level set method is to represent the N dimensional boundary in the N+l dimensions. This gives the generality to represent even the complex boundaries. The level set methods can be powerful tools to represent dynamic boundaries, but they can require lot of computing power. Specially the basic level set method have considerable computational burden. This burden can be alleviated with more sophisticated versions of the level set algorithm like the narrow band level set method or with the programmable hardware implementation. Also the parallel approach can be used in suitable applications. It is concluded that these methods can be used in a quite broad range of image applications, like computer vision and graphics, scientific visualization and also to solve problems in computational physics. Level set methods and methods derived and inspired by it will be in the front line of image processing also in the future.

A Generic Framework Architecture for Portal Front End

A modem software development requires quick results and excellent quality, which leads to high demand for reusability in design and implementation of software components. The purpose of this thesis was to design and implement a reusable framework for portal front ends, including common portal features, such as authentication and authorization. The aim was also to evaluate frameworks as components of reuse and compare them to other reuse techniques. As the result of this thesis, a goo'd picture of framework's life cycle, problem domain and the actual implementation process of the framework, was obtained. It was also found out that frameworks fit well to solve recurrent and similar problems in a restricted problem domain. The outcome of this thesis was a prototype of a generic framework and an example application built on it. The implemented framework offered an abstract base for the portal front ends, using object-oriented methods and wellknown design patterns. The example application demonstrated the speed and ease of the application development based on the application frameworks.

Applying collective intelligence to idea evaluation at the front end of innovation

The study focuses on the front end of innovation process. Due to changes in innovation policies and paradigms customers, users and shopfloor employees are becoming increasingly important sources of knowledge. New methods are needed for processing information and ideas coming from multiple sources more effectively. The aim of this study is to develop an idea evaluation tool suitable for the front end of innovation process and capable of utilizing collective intelligence. The study is carried out as a case study research using constructive research approach. The chosen approach suits well for the purposes of the study. The constructive approach focuses on designing new constructs and testing them in real life applications. In this study a tool for evaluating ideas emerging from the course of everyday work is developed and tested in a case organization. Development of the tool is based on current scientific literature on knowledge creation, innovation management and collective intelligence and it is tested in LUT Lahti School of Innovation. Results are encouraging. The idea evaluation tool manages to improve performance at the front end of innovation process and it is accepted in use in the case organization. This study provides insights on what kind of a tool is required for facilitating collective intelligence at the front end of innovation process.

Challenges and Means for the Front End Activities of Software Development

The front end of innovation is regarded as one of the most important steps in building new software products or services, and the most significant benefits in software development can be achieved through improvements in the front end activities. Problems in the front end phase have an impact on customer dissatisfaction with delivered software, and on the effectiveness of the entire software development process. When these processes are improved, the likelihood of delivering high quality software and business success increases. This thesis highlights the challenges and problems related to the early phases of software development, and provides new methods and tools for improving performance in the front end activities of software development. The theoretical framework of this study comprises two fields of research. The first section belongs to the field of innovation management, and especially to the management of the early phases of the innovation process, i.e. the front end of innovation. The second section of the framework is closely linked to the processes of software engineering, especially to the early phases of the software development process, i.e. the practice of requirements engineering. Thus, this study extends the theoretical knowledge and discloses the differences and similarities in these two fields of research. In addition, this study opens up a new strand for academic discussion by connecting these research directions. Several qualitative business research methodologies have been utilized in the individual publications to solve the research questions. The theoretical and managerial contribution of the study can be divided into three areas: 1) processes and concepts, 2) challenges and development needs, and 3) means and methods for the front end activities of software development. First, the study discloses the difference and similarities between the concepts of the front end of innovation and requirements engineering, and proposes a new framework for managing the front end of the software innovation process, bringing business and innovation perspectives into software development. Furthermore, the study discloses managerial perceptions of the similarities and differences in the concept of the front end of innovation between the software industry and the traditional industrial sector. Second, the study highlights the challenges and development needs in the front end phase of software development, especially challenges in communication, such as linguistic problems, ineffective communication channels, a communication gap between users/customers and software developers, and participation of multiple persons in software development. Third, the study proposes new group methods for improving the front end activities of software development, especially customer need assessment, and the elicitation of software requirements.

First dice your dill – new methods and techniques in sample handling

This book is dedicated to celebrate the 60th birthday of Professor Rainer Huopalahti. Professor Rainer “Repe” Huopalahti has had, and in fact is still enjoying a distinguished career in the analysis of food and food related flavor compounds. One will find it hard to make any progress in this particular field without a valid and innovative sample handling technique and this is a field in which Professor Huopalahti has made great contributions. The title and the front cover of this book honors Professor Huopahti’s early steps in science. His PhD thesis which was published on 1985 is entitled “Composition and content of aroma compounds in the dill herb, Anethum graveolens L., affected by different factors”. At that time, the thesis introduced new technology being applied to sample handling and analysis of flavoring compounds of dill. Sample handling is an essential task that in just about every analysis. If one is working with minor compounds in a sample or trying to detect trace levels of the analytes, one of the aims of sample handling may be to increase the sensitivity of the analytical method. On the other hand, if one is working with a challenging matrix such as the kind found in biological samples, one of the aims is to increase the selectivity. However, quite often the aim is to increase both the selectivity and the sensitivity. This book provides good and representative examples about the necessity of valid sample handling and the role of the sample handling in the analytical method. The contributors of the book are leading Finnish scientists on the field of organic instrumental analytical chemistry. Some of them are also Repe’ s personal friends and former students from the University of Turku, Department of Biochemistry and Food Chemistry. Importantly, the authors all know Repe in one way or another and are well aware of his achievements on the field of analytical chemistry. The editorial team had a great time during the planning phase and during the “hard work editorial phase” of the book. For example, we came up with many ideas on how to publish the book. After many long discussions, we decided to have a limited edition as an “old school hard cover book” – and to acknowledge more modern ways of disseminating knowledge by publishing an internet version of the book on the webpages of the University of Turku. Downloading the book from the webpage for personal use is free of charge. We believe and hope that the book will be read with great interest by scientists working in the fascinating field of organic instrumental analytical chemistry. We decided to publish our book in English for two main reasons. First, we believe that in the near future, more and more teaching in Finnish Universities will be delivered in English. To facilitate this process and encourage students to develop good language skills, it was decided to be published the book in English. Secondly, we believe that the book will also interest scientists outside Finland – particularly in the other member states of the European Union. The editorial team thanks all the authors for their willingness to contribute to this book – and to adhere to the very strict schedule. We also want to thank the various individuals and enterprises who financially supported the book project. Without that support, it would not have been possible to publish the hardcover book.

Real-time Image-based RGB-D Camera Motion Tracking and Environment Mapping

In this work, image based estimation methods, also known as direct methods, are studied which avoid feature extraction and matching completely. Cost functions use raw pixels as measurements and the goal is to produce precise 3D pose and structure estimates. The cost functions presented minimize the sensor error, because measurements are not transformed or modified. In photometric camera pose estimation, 3D rotation and translation parameters are estimated by minimizing a sequence of image based cost functions, which are non-linear due to perspective projection and lens distortion. In image based structure refinement, on the other hand, 3D structure is refined using a number of additional views and an image based cost metric. Image based estimation methods are particularly useful in conditions where the Lambertian assumption holds, and the 3D points have constant color despite viewing angle. The goal is to improve image based estimation methods, and to produce computationally efficient methods which can be accomodated into real-time applications. The developed image-based 3D pose and structure estimation methods are finally demonstrated in practise in indoor 3D reconstruction use, and in a live augmented reality application.

Model-Based Tracking Initialization in Ship Building Environment

An augmented reality (AR) device must know observer’s location and orientation, i.e. observer’s pose, to be able to correctly register the virtual content to observer’s view. One possible way to determine and continuously follow-up the pose is model-based visual tracking. It supposes that a 3D model of the surroundings is known and that there is a video camera that is fixed to the device. The pose is tracked by comparing the video camera image to the model. Each new pose estimate is usually based on the previous estimate. However, the first estimate must be found out without a prior estimate, i.e. the tracking must be initialized, which in practice means that some model features must be identified from the image and matched to model features. This is known in literature as model-to-image registration problem or simultaneous pose and correspondence problem. This report reviews visual tracking initialization methods that are suitable for visual tracking in ship building environment when the ship CAD model is available. The environment is complex, which makes the initialization non-trivial. The report has been done as part of MARIN project.

Novel control, haptic and calibration methods for teleoperated electrohydraulic servo systems

The aim of this thesis is to propose a novel control method for teleoperated electrohydraulic servo systems that implements a reliable haptic sense between the human and manipulator interaction, and an ideal position control between the manipulator and the task environment interaction. The proposed method has the characteristics of a universal technique independent of the actual control algorithm and it can be applied with other suitable control methods as a real-time control strategy. The motivation to develop this control method is the necessity for a reliable real-time controller for teleoperated electrohydraulic servo systems that provides highly accurate position control based on joystick inputs with haptic capabilities. The contribution of the research is that the proposed control method combines a directed random search method and a real-time simulation to develop an intelligent controller in which each generation of parameters is tested on-line by the real-time simulator before being applied to the real process. The controller was evaluated on a hydraulic position servo system. The simulator of the hydraulic system was built based on Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. A Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm combined with the foraging behavior of E. coli bacteria was utilized as the directed random search engine. The control strategy allows the operator to be plugged into the work environment dynamically and kinetically. This helps to ensure the system has haptic sense with high stability, without abstracting away the dynamics of the hydraulic system. The new control algorithm provides asymptotically exact tracking of both, the position and the contact force. In addition, this research proposes a novel method for re-calibration of multi-axis force/torque sensors. The method makes several improvements to traditional methods. It can be used without dismantling the sensor from its application and it requires smaller number of standard loads for calibration. It is also more cost efficient and faster in comparison to traditional calibration methods. The proposed method was developed in response to re-calibration issues with the force sensors utilized in teleoperated systems. The new approach aimed to avoid dismantling of the sensors from their applications for applying calibration. A major complication with many manipulators is the difficulty accessing them when they operate inside a non-accessible environment; especially if those environments are harsh; such as in radioactive areas. The proposed technique is based on design of experiment methodology. It has been successfully applied to different force/torque sensors and this research presents experimental validation of use of the calibration method with one of the force sensors which method has been applied to.

Recent advances in monocular model-based tracking: a systematic literature review

In this paper, we review the advances of monocular model-based tracking for last ten years period until 2014. In 2005, Lepetit, et. al, [19] reviewed the status of monocular model based rigid body tracking. Since then, direct 3D tracking has become quite popular research area, but monocular model-based tracking should still not be forgotten. We mainly focus on tracking, which could be applied to aug- mented reality, but also some other applications are covered. Given the wide subject area this paper tries to give a broad view on the research that has been conducted, giving the reader an introduction to the different disciplines that are tightly related to model-based tracking. The work has been conducted by searching through well known academic search databases in a systematic manner, and by selecting certain publications for closer examination. We analyze the results by dividing the found papers into different categories by their way of implementation. The issues which have not yet been solved are discussed. We also discuss on emerging model-based methods such as fusing different types of features and region-based pose estimation which could show the way for future research in this subject.

Exploring the impact of celebrity endorsement and product class involvement on advertising effectiveness: an eye tracking approach

Celebrity endorsement has increased in popularity over the past decades and companies are willing to spend increasingly excessive amounts of money into it. Even though multiple studies support celebrity endorsement, further research on its impact on advertising effectiveness is called for. Fur-ther, the role of consumers’ product class involvement in advertising needs to be further studied. The purpose of this study is to explore if consumers’ product class involvement and exposure to celebrity endorsers affect consumers brand recall. Supported by earlier studies, brand recall was used as a measure for advertising effectiveness in this study. In general, a psychological approach was chosen for building the theoretical framework. Concept of classical conditioning was presented in order to understand why people act how they do. Balanced theory and meaning transfer model were presented in order to study how celebrities can be used effectively in advertising context. Further, the importance of product class involvement in advertising effectiveness was evaluated. Hypotheses were formulated based on a literature review of the existing research. Because of the versatility of the research design, a mixed methods approach for this study was adopted. Empirical part of the study was conducted in three stages. First, a pre-test was conducted in order to choose suitable product endorsers for the advertisement stimuli used in the experiment. Second, an eye-tracking experiment with 30 test subjects was conducted in order to study how people view advertisements and whether the familiarity of the product endorser and consumers’ product class involvement affects brand recall. For the experiment, a fictional brand was created in order to avoid bias on brand recall. Third, qualitative interviews for 15 test subjects were conducted in the post-experiment stage in order to gain deeper understating of the phenomenon and to make sense of the findings from the experiment. Findings from this study support celebrity endorsement by suggesting that a famous spokesperson does not steal attention from brand information more than a non-celebrity product endorser. As a result, the use of a celebrity endorser did not decrease brand recall. Results support earlier research as consumer’ higher product class involvement resulted in a better brand recall. Findings from the interviews suggest that consumers have positive perceptions of celebrity endorsement in general. However, the celebrity–brand congruence is a crucial factor when creating attitudes towards the advertisement. Future research ideas were presented based on the limitations and results of this study