A mechatronic system applied to wear particle analysis

This paper describes the development of a mechatronic system for a predictive maintenance grounded on wear particle analysis. The reckoning of wear particles containing in lubricating industrial oils brings the image acquisition system into being. The ISO 4406:1999 standard is a guide to establish the counting and evaluation processes of particles. The system applied to the acquisition and analysis of the data consists of a digital camera, a monocular microscope and an oil filtering system. A computational program was developed with the application of Visual Microsoft C++ in a way to detain the oil sample image from the microscope slide to the computer screen. Quantitative analyses of the wear debris particles bulk are exploited applying a graphical interface that was developed to render the image processing of the sample test. The implemented system has a reachable cost thus it can be applied for schooling goals and for bolstering laboratories of minor industries and medium size companies.

Geoprocessamento e sensoriamento remoto aplicado na determinação da aptidão agrícola de uma microbacia

Soil use for the development of activities as agriculture and livestock has been causing great alterations in the environment, mainly when these are practiced intensively, disrespecting the fragility and aptitude of the natural resources. Therefore, it is essential that the planning of the agricultural activities is done, taking into consideration the several environmental criteria involved in the decision-making process. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the agricultural aptitude classes of lands from a watershed through geographical information system (GIS). The Arroio Ajuricaba watershed is located in the Municipality of Marechal Cândido Rondon - PR among the coordinates UTM 787309m E and 793892m E; 7275026m N and 7281310m N, in the Spindle 21, presenting an area of 1681ha. Soil maps, in semi detail scale, was the digital cartographic base used. The results allowed to conclude that 42.41% of the basin presented a good aptitude for farming in handling level of high technology (handling level C), regular aptitude for B, and restricted aptitude for A [class 1(a)bC] and that 12% of the area had regular aptitude for farming in the three handling levels (class 1abc). The watershed lands (14.24%) presented regular aptitude for farming in handling level C, restricted aptitude for B, and inapt for A [class of aptitude 2(b)c]; 15.85% presented good aptitude for planted pasture (class 4P) and 12.21% were considered without aptitude for agricultural use (class 6). We can say that 71.94% of the lands has aptitude for farming, although they present different degrees of limitations that request different treatments for its conservation.

A regularized nonlinear diffusion approach for texture image denoising

In this paper a new partial differential equation based method is presented with a view to denoising images having textures. The proposed model combines a nonlinear anisotropic diffusion filter with recent harmonic analysis techniques. A wave atom shrinkage allied to detection by gradient technique is used to guide the diffusion process so as to smooth and maintain essential image characteristics. Two forcing terms are used to maintain and improve edges, boundaries and oscillatory features of an image having irregular details and texture. Experimental results show the performance of our model for texture preserving denoising when compared to recent methods in literature. © 2009 IEEE.

Assessment of manipulation accuracy of digitized occlusal radiographic images--sub and over exposure.

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether digitized images obtained from occlusal radiographs taken with low or over dose of radiation could be improved with the aid of computer software for digital treatment. Thirteen occlusal radiographs of a dry skull were taken employing 13 different exposure times. The radiographs were digitized and then manipulated with the program for image editing. 143 evaluations were performed by specialists in dental radiology who classified radiographs as appropriate or not appropriate for interpretation. Test Z was used for statistical analysis of the data and the results showed that it is possible to manipulate digitized radiographic images taken with 75% of the ideal exposure time and to make them suitable for interpretation and diagnosis. Conversely, it was concluded that the over exposed images, 57.50% above the standard exposure time, were inadequate.

Proposição de rotina morfológica para detecção de malha viária em imagens orbitais

The outdating of cartographic products affects planning. It is important to propose methods to help detect changes in surface. Thus, the combined use of remote sensing image and techniques of digital image processing has contributed significantly to minimize such outdating. Mathematical morphology is an image processing technique which describes quantitatively geometric structures presented in the image and provides tools such as edge detectors and morphological filters. Previous studies have shown that the technique has potential on the detection of significant features. Thus, this paper proposes a routine of morphological operators to detect a road network. The test area corresponds to an excerpt Quickbird image and has as a feature of interest an avenue of the city of Presidente Prudente, SP. In the processing, the main morphological operators used were threshad, areaopen, binary and erosion. To estimate the accuracy with which the linear features were detected, it was done the analysis of linear correlation between vectors of the features detected and the corresponding topographical map of the region. The results showed that the mathematical morphology can be used in cartography, aiming to use them in conventional cartographic updating processes.

Digital radiography for the inspection of weld seams of pipelines - better sensitivity

Conventional radiography, using industrial radiographic films, has its days numbered. Digital radiography, recently, has taken its place in various segments of products and services, such as medicine, aerospace, security, automotive, etc. As well as the technological trend, the digital technique has brought proven benefits in terms of productivity, sensitivity, the environment, tools for image treatment, cost reductions, etc. If the weld to be inspected is on a serried product, such as, for example, a pipe, the best option for the use of digital radiography is the plane detector, since its use can reduce the length of the inspection cycle due to its high degree of automation. This work tested welded joints produced with the submerged arc process, which were specially prepared in such a way that it shows small artificial cracks, which served as the basis forcomparing the sensitivity levels of the techniques involved. After carrying out the various experiments, the digital meth odshowed the highest sensitivity for the image quality indicator (IQI) of the wire and also in terms of detecting small discontinuities, indicating that the use of digital radiography using the plane detector had advantages over the conventional technique (Moreira et al. Digital radiography, the use of plane detectors for the inspection of welds in oil pipes and gas pipes.9th COTEQ and XXV National Testing Congress for Non Destructive Testing and Inspection; Salvador, Bahia, Brazil and Bavendiek et al. New digital radiography procedure exceeds film sensitivity considerably in aerospace applications. ECNDT; 2006; Berlin). The works were carried out on the basis of the specifications for oil and gas pipelines, API 5L 2004 edition (American Petroleum Institute. API 5L: specification for line pipe. 4th ed. p. 155; 2004) and ISO 3183 2007 edition (International Organization for Standardization, ISO 3183. Petroleum and gas industries - steel pipes for pi pelines transportation systems. p. 143; 2007). © 2010 Taylor & Francis.

Estudio digital radiográfico y densitométrico en mandíbulas de cerdos sometidos a osteotomía con alta y baja velocidad, con refrigeración líquida

The influence of the type of rotary cutting instrument on bone repair after osteotomy in swine jaw, was evaluated using digital and densitometric radiographic examinations, at controlled times. Two cross-sectional dissections were made through the base of the right jaw, one using a high speed rotary instrument and the other using low speed, both with liquid cooling. After established periods the animals were sacrificed and their jaws removed for direct and indirect digital radiographic and densitometric studies using the CROMOX, DIGORA and ODR systems. In the initial periods (7 and 28 days) the bone density was higher in osteotomy areas performed with high rotation speeds, and in the final periods (60 and 90 days) the bone density was higher in the osteotomies performed with low rotation, indicating a better final bone repair with the use of low rotation. The qualitative analysis of the repair process was made by the ODR system which obtained three-dimensional and coloured digital images, which enable the bone thickness to be measured using an aluminium wedge. This showed that by twenty-eight days the bone repair was already apparently complete. © 2010 SECOM.

Regional perspectives on digital disaster management in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Bone mineral density on conventional and digitized images under different parameters of digitization and storage

Aim: To assess the bone mineral density on conventional and digitized images, comparing whether different parameters of digitization and storage change these values. Methods: Twenty radiographs were taken from five partially dentulous dry mandibles with an aluminum 7-mm stepwedge placed on the superior edge of the film. After processing, the films were digitized with a resolution of 600 and 2,400 d.p.i. and saved as TIFF and JPEG files. On every conventional and digitized image, circular regions of interest were selected for densitometry and radiographic contrast analysis. Results: Pearson's correlation coefficient showed a significant and strong mean gray values association between digitized and conventional images, differing from radiographic contrast that did not show a significant association. ANOVA did not reveal a statistically significant difference in bone density and radiographic contrast among the four digitized image groups, but the conventional image contrast was significantly lower. Conclusions: Bone mineral density did not differ in both conventional and digitized images. The parameters of image compression and resolution, tested in this study, did not change the results of densitometry and digitization process increased the radiographic contrast.

ANN statistical image recognition method for computer vision in agricultural mobile robot navigation

The main application area in this project, is to deploy image processing and segmentation techniques in computer vision through an omnidirectional vision system to agricultural mobile robots (AMR) used for trajectory navigation problems, as well as localization matters. Thereby, computational methods based on the JSEG algorithm were used to provide the classification and the characterization of such problems, together with Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) for image recognition. Hence, it was possible to run simulations and carry out analyses of the performance of JSEG image segmentation technique through Matlab/Octave computational platforms, along with the application of customized Back-propagation Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) algorithm and statistical methods as structured heuristics methods in a Simulink environment. Having the aforementioned procedures been done, it was practicable to classify and also characterize the HSV space color segments, not to mention allow the recognition of segmented images in which reasonably accurate results were obtained. © 2010 IEEE.

Latin America on its path into the digital age: where are we?

Includes bibliography

Geometric modeling from the medical images in the CAD system to support prosthesis design

This paper presents an individual designing prosthesis for surgical use and proposes a methodology for such design through mathematical extrapolation of data from digital images obtained via tomography of individual patient's bones. Individually tailored prosthesis designed to fit particular patient requirements as accurately as possible should result in more successful reconstruction, enable better planning before surgery and consequently fewer complications during surgery. Fast and accurate design and manufacture of personalized prosthesis for surgical use in bone replacement or reconstruction is potentially feasible through the application and integration of several different existing technologies, which are each at different stages of maturity. Initial case study experiments have been undertaken to validate the research concepts by making dimensional comparisons between a bone and a virtual model produced using the proposed methodology and a future research directions are discussed.

Evaluation of a digital methodology for human identification using palatal rugoscopy

Palatal rugoscopy, or palatoscopy, is the process by which human identification can be obtained by inspecting the transverse palatal rugae inside the mouth. Aim: This study evaluated a digital method for human identification using palatoscopy, by comparing photographs of the palate against the images of cast models of the maxilla photographed with and without highlighting of the palatal rugae. Methods: Condensation silicone impressions were made from the upper arches of 30 adult subjects of both genders and their palates were then photographed. The first impression was made with heavy silicone, the second impression with light silicone, and then the models were cast in improved type IV dental stone. The casts were photographed, the palatal rugae of each one were highlighted with a pencil, and then the models were photographed again. Using a free image-editing software, the digital photographs were overlapped over the images of the palatal rugae of the models with and without highlighting of the palatal rugae, in order to identify the pairs. Results: The result of overlapping the digital photographs with the images of the models without highlighted palatal rugae resulted in 90% positive identification. For the overlapping of the digital photographs with the images of models with highlighted palatal rugae, there was 100% positive identification. Conclusions: The digital method evaluated in this study was proven effective for human identification.

Improving synthetic aperture image by image compounding in beamforming process

In this work, signal processing techniques are used to improve the quality of image based on multi-element synthetic aperture techniques. Using several apodization functions to obtain different side lobes distribution, a polarity function and a threshold criterium are used to develop an image compounding technique. The spatial diversity is increased using an additional array, which generates complementary information about the defects, improving the results of the proposed algorithm and producing high resolution and contrast images. The inspection of isotropic plate-like structures using linear arrays and Lamb waves is presented. Experimental results are shown for a 1-mm-thick isotropic aluminum plate with artificial defects using linear arrays formed by 30 piezoelectric elements, with the low dispersion symmetric mode S0 at the frequency of 330 kHz. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.

Image categorization through optimum path forest and visual words

Different from the first attempts to solve the image categorization problem (often based on global features), recently, several researchers have been tackling this research branch through a new vantage point - using features around locally invariant interest points and visual dictionaries. Although several advances have been done in the visual dictionaries literature in the past few years, a problem we still need to cope with is calculation of the number of representative words in the dictionary. Therefore, in this paper we introduce a new solution for automatically finding the number of visual words in an N-Way image categorization problem by means of supervised pattern classification based on optimum-path forest. © 2011 IEEE.