Real time video segmentation for recognising paint marks on bad wooden railway sleepers

Wooden railway sleeper inspections in Sweden are currently performed manually by a human operator; such inspections are based on visual analysis. Machine vision based approach has been done to emulate the visual abilities of human operator to enable automation of the process. Through this process bad sleepers are identified, and a spot is marked on it with specific color (blue in the current case) on the rail so that the maintenance operators are able to identify the spot and replace the sleeper. The motive of this thesis is to help the operators to identify those sleepers which are marked by color (spots), using an “Intelligent Vehicle” which is capable of running on the track. Capturing video while running on the track and segmenting the object of interest (spot) through this vehicle; we can automate this work and minimize the human intuitions. The video acquisition process depends on camera position and source light to obtain fine brightness in acquisition, we have tested 4 different types of combinations (camera position and source light) here to record the video and test the validity of proposed method. A sequence of real time rail frames are extracted from these videos and further processing (depending upon the data acquisition process) is done to identify the spots. After identification of spot each frame is divided in to 9 regions to know the particular region where the spot lies to avoid overlapping with noise, and so on. The proposed method will generate the information regarding in which region the spot lies, based on nine regions in each frame. From the generated results we have made some classification regarding data collection techniques, efficiency, time and speed. In this report, extensive experiments using image sequences from particular camera are reported and the experiments were done using intelligent vehicle as well as test vehicle and the results shows that we have achieved 95% success in identifying the spots when we use video as it is, in other method were we can skip some frames in pre-processing to increase the speed of video but the segmentation results we reduced to 85% and the time was very less compared to previous one. This shows the validity of proposed method in identification of spots lying on wooden railway sleepers where we can compromise between time and efficiency to get the desired result.

Content-based video indexing for sports applications using integrated multi-modal approach

To sustain an ongoing rapid growth of video information, there is an emerging demand for a sophisticated content-based video indexing system. However, current video indexing solutions are still immature and lack of any standard. This doctoral consists of a research work based on an integrated multi-modal approach for sports video indexing and retrieval. By combining specific features extractable from multiple audio-visual modalities, generic structure and specific events can be detected and classified. During browsing and retrieval, users will benefit from the integration of high-level semantic and some descriptive mid-level features such as whistle and close-up view of player(s).

Coastal marine habitat mapping using multi-beam acoustics, video data and a decision tree classifier on the temperate south-east Australian continental shelf

In this habitat mapping study, multi-beam acoustic data are integrated with extensive, precisely geo-referenced video validation data in a GIS environment to classify benthic substrates and biota at a 33km2 site in the near shore waters of Victoria, Australia. Using an automated decision-tree classification method, 5 representative biotic groups were identified in the Cape Nelson survey area using a combination of multi-beam bathymetry, backscatter and derivative products. Rigorous error assessment of derived, classified maps produced high overall accuracies (>85%) for all mapping products. In addition, a discrete multivariate analysis technique (kappa analysis) was used to assess classification accuracy. High-resolution (2.5m cell-size) representation of sea floor morphology and textural characteristics provided by multi-beam bathymetry and backscatter datasets, allowed the interpretation of benthic substrates of the Cape Nelson site and the communities of sessile organisms that populate them. Non-parametric multivariate statistical analysis (ANOSIM) revealed a significant difference in biotic composition between depth strata, and between substrate types. Incorporated with other descriptive measures, these results indicate that depth and substrate are important factors in the distributional ecology of the biotic communities at the Cape Nelson study site. BIOENV analysis indicates that derivatives of both multi-beam datasets (bathymetry and backscatter) are correlated with distribution and density of biotic communities. Results from this study provide new tools for research and management of the coastal zone.

Do young children get the message? The effects of repeated video viewing on explicit and implicit information

The aim of this study was to explore the effects of repeat viewing on comprehension of explicitly and implicitly presented information in an animated movie. Seventy-three pre-school children watched an animated film and were tested for comprehension after either their single or fifth viewing. Only children’s comprehension of explicitly presented information was facilitated by repeat viewing. However, post hoc analyses revealed that children’s explicit and implicit comprehension of a central character Thunderbolt significantly increased across viewing conditions, whereas, repeat viewing only facilitated children’s explicit comprehension of the central character Patch. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Repeated-viewing and co-viewing of an animated video : an examination of factors that impact on young children's comprehension of video content

The experiment reported here was concerned with the effect of repeat- viewing and adult co-viewing on the comprehension of an animated feature length movie. Four- to six-year-old children watched a movie on video either once or five times, and either with their mother present or on their own. The findings revealed that, after controlling for language skills and interest in the type of video watched, children who watched five times had higher comprehension scores than children who watched only once. Furthermore, children who watched the video repeatedly were also better at character identification and at identifying the good and bad qualities of one of the main characters in the movie. The presence of a mother, who was explicitly asked to co- view the movie with her child, did not facilitate comprehension. The findings are discussed in terms of the educational benefits of repeat viewing. Theoretical implications are also noted.

The impact of violent video-games on cognition, affect and personality

This research investigated the impact of playing violent videogames. Aggressive or anxious responses were most likely: when the player perceived the violence in the games to be extreme, when the player experienced a heightened sense of becoming 'absorbed' into the game, and during a relatively brief exposure to the game. The portfolio explores the use of manualised interventions in psychology research and practice. Four illustrative case studies regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of adapting manualised interventions for clients with chronic health conditions are presented.

Lorne story : reflections on a video postcard

In the imaginary and reflexive space of video storytelling, one story generates another. As an autobiographical video memoir, Lorne story is fashioned as a hybrid form of postcard and director's video notebook: it examines the stories we tell ourselves, and the stories we tell others - in the presence of video.

The effects of playing violent video games on adolescents : should parents be quaking in their boots?

Debate regarding the psychological and behavioural effects of playing violent video games has recently led to claims that violent video games increase aggression effects in adolescents, and that this issue has now been settled. However, other researchers have found either no detrimental effects from game playing or even positive (cathartic) effects. In this research we demonstrate that these different conclusions are not mutually exclusive and can be explained by the method of assessment and analytic techniques utilised. We had adolescents play a violent video game (Quake II) and took measurements of anger both before, during and after game play. The results demonstrated that some people increase, some decrease and the majority show no change in anger ratings. Unlike past research, we also demonstrate that these changes are mediated by the player's feelings immediately prior to game play and a labile temperament - one predisposed to aggression - and that these variables predict people's reactions with an average 73% concordance rate.