Image retrieval on the Honeycomb Image Browser

Efficient and effective approaches of dealing with the vast amount of visual information available nowadays are highly sought after. This is particularly the case for image collections, both personal and commercial. Due to the magnitude of these ever expanding image repositories, annotation of all images images is infeasible, and search in such an image collection therefore becomes inherently difficult. Although content-based image retrieval techniques have shown much potential, such approaches also suffer from various problems making it difficult to adopt them in practice. In this paper, we follow a different approach, namely that of browsing image databases for image retrieval. In our Honeycomb Image Browser, large image databases are visualised on a hexagonal lattice with image thumbnails occupying hexagons. Arranged in a space filling manner, visually similar images are located close together enabling large image datasets to be navigated in a hierarchical manner. Various browsing tools are incorporated to allow for interactive exploration of the database. Experimental results confirm that our approach affords efficient image retrieval. © 2010 IEEE.

Improved image analysis based corrosion assessment using preprocessing techniques

The importance of non-destructive techniques (NDT) in structural health monitoring programmes is being critically felt in the recent times. The quality of the measured data, often affected by various environmental conditions can be a guiding factor in terms usefulness and prediction efficiencies of the various detection and monitoring methods used in this regard. Often, a preprocessing of the acquired data in relation to the affecting environmental parameters can improve the information quality and lead towards a significantly more efficient and correct prediction process. The improvement can be directly related to the final decision making policy about a structure or a network of structures and is compatible with general probabilistic frameworks of such assessment and decision making programmes. This paper considers a preprocessing technique employed for an image analysis based structural health monitoring methodology to identify sub-marine pitting corrosion in the presence of variable luminosity, contrast and noise affecting the quality of images. A preprocessing of the gray-level threshold of the various images is observed to bring about a significant improvement in terms of damage detection as compared to an automatically computed gray-level threshold. The case dependent adjustments of the threshold enable to obtain the best possible information from an existing image. The corresponding improvements are observed in a qualitative manner in the present study.

A stereo-image analysis JAVA software with links to executable and source code

Scientists planning to use underwater stereoscopic image technologies are often faced with numerous problems during the methodological implementations: commercial equipment is too expensive; the setup or calibration is too complex; or the imaging processing (i.e. measuring objects in the stereo-images) is too complicated to be performed without a time-consuming phase of training and evaluation. The present paper addresses some of these problems and describes a workflow for stereoscopic measurements for marine biologists. It also provides instructions on how to assemble an underwater stereo-photographic system with two digital consumer cameras and gives step-by-step guidelines for setting up the hardware. The second part details a software procedure to correct stereo-image pairs for lens distortions, which is especially important when using cameras with non-calibrated optical units. The final part presents a guide to the process of measuring the lengths (or distances) of objects in stereoscopic image pairs. To reveal the applicability and the restrictions of the described systems and to test the effects of different types of camera (a compact camera and an SLR type), experiments were performed to determine the precision and accuracy of two generic stereo-imaging units: a diver-operated system based on two Olympus Mju 1030SW compact cameras and a cable-connected observatory system based on two Canon 1100D SLR cameras. In the simplest setup without any correction for lens distortion, the low-budget Olympus Mju 1030SW system achieved mean accuracy errors (percentage deviation of a measurement from the object's real size) between 10.2 and -7.6% (overall mean value: -0.6%), depending on the size, orientation and distance of the measured object from the camera. With the single lens reflex (SLR) system, very similar values between 10.1% and -3.4% (overall mean value: -1.2%) were observed. Correction of the lens distortion significantly improved the mean accuracy errors of either system. Even more, system precision (spread of the accuracy) improved significantly in both systems. Neither the use of a wide-angle converter nor multiple reassembly of the system had a significant negative effect on the results. The study shows that underwater stereophotography, independent of the system, has a high potential for robust and non-destructive in situ sampling and can be used without prior specialist training.

Plane detection from monocular image sequences

AIRES, Kelson R. T. ; ARAÚJO, Hélder J. ; MEDEIROS, Adelardo A. D. . Plane Detection from Monocular Image Sequences. In: VISUALIZATION, IMAGING AND IMAGE PROCESSING, 2008, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Proceedings..., Palma de Mallorca: VIIP, 2008

Development of N N SMRT for N a power of 2 and its Applications in Image Enhancement

Digital Image Processing is a rapidly evolving eld with growing applications in Science and Engineering. It involves changing the nature of an image in order to either improve its pictorial information for human interpretation or render it more suitable for autonomous machine perception. One of the major areas of image processing for human vision applications is image enhancement. The principal goal of image enhancement is to improve visual quality of an image, typically by taking advantage of the response of human visual system. Image enhancement methods are carried out usually in the pixel domain. Transform domain methods can often provide another way to interpret and understand image contents. A suitable transform, thus selected, should have less computational complexity. Sequency ordered arrangement of unique MRT (Mapped Real Transform) coe cients can give rise to an integer-to-integer transform, named Sequency based unique MRT (SMRT), suitable for image processing applications. The development of the SMRT from UMRT (Unique MRT), forward & inverse SMRT algorithms and the basis functions are introduced. A few properties of the SMRT are explored and its scope in lossless text compression is presented.

Resident’s Perceptions on Impacts of Hosting the Guimaraes 2012 European Capital of Culture: Comparisons of the Pre- and Post Periods

Residents tend to have high expectations regarding the benefits of hosting a mega- event, in particular the creation of new infrastructure, growth in GDP and employ- ment, image enhancement and the spin-offs of attracting tourists and fostering sustainable growth of the cultural supply (Jeong and Faulkner 1996; Deccio and Baloglu 2002; Gursoy and Kendall 2006; Getz 2008; Langen and Garcia 2009; Ritchie et al. 2009; Gursoy et al. 2011; Palonen 2011). Nevertheless, they normally recognise that some costs will be incurred (Kim and Petrick 2005; Kim et al. 2006; Ritchie et al. 2009; Gursoy et al. 2011; Lee et al. 2013). So, it was not surprising that the nomination of Guimaraes, a small city in the northwest of Portugal, as one of the two European Capitals of Culture in 2012 (2012 ECOC), had raised great expectations in the local community vis- a-vis its socio-economic and cultural benefits. Our research was designed to examine the Guimar~aes residents’ perceptions of the impacts of hosting the 2012 ECOC, approached at two different times: before and after the event, to try and capture the evolution of the residents’ assessment of its impacts. From the empirical literature, we know that residents’ perceived impacts tend to change as time goes by (Kim et al. 2006; Ritchie et al. 2009; Gursoy et al. 2011; Lee et al. 2013). The data were gathered via two surveys applied to Guimaraes residents, one in 2011, before the event, and the other afterwards, in 2013. The Guimaraes residents’ assessment was thought to be essential to get an accurate appraisal of the impact of the mega-event as they were a main part of the hosting process. 2012 ECOC impacts were mainly felt by local people who, in most cases, will go on feeling them in the short and long term. The research was thought to be socially pertinent as the opinions collected through the surveys can help to prevent repeating mistakes when similar mega- events are organised in the future, and to increase the positive impacts derived from hosting them. When we talk about the social pertinence of the empirical results, we want to stress that the expertise acquired can be useful to any host city or country.

Infrared image enhancement based on hybrid-domain consideration and data fusion methods

Au cours des dernières décennies, l’effort sur les applications de capteurs infrarouges a largement progressé dans le monde. Mais, une certaine difficulté demeure, en ce qui concerne le fait que les objets ne sont pas assez clairs ou ne peuvent pas toujours être distingués facilement dans l’image obtenue pour la scène observée. L’amélioration de l’image infrarouge a joué un rôle important dans le développement de technologies de la vision infrarouge de l’ordinateur, le traitement de l’image et les essais non destructifs, etc. Cette thèse traite de la question des techniques d’amélioration de l’image infrarouge en deux aspects, y compris le traitement d’une seule image infrarouge dans le domaine hybride espacefréquence, et la fusion d’images infrarouges et visibles employant la technique du nonsubsampled Contourlet transformer (NSCT). La fusion d’images peut être considérée comme étant la poursuite de l’exploration du modèle d’amélioration de l’image unique infrarouge, alors qu’il combine les images infrarouges et visibles en une seule image pour représenter et améliorer toutes les informations utiles et les caractéristiques des images sources, car une seule image ne pouvait contenir tous les renseignements pertinents ou disponibles en raison de restrictions découlant de tout capteur unique de l’imagerie. Nous examinons et faisons une enquête concernant le développement de techniques d’amélioration d’images infrarouges, et ensuite nous nous consacrons à l’amélioration de l’image unique infrarouge, et nous proposons un schéma d’amélioration de domaine hybride avec une méthode d’évaluation floue de seuil amélioré, qui permet d’obtenir une qualité d’image supérieure et améliore la perception visuelle humaine. Les techniques de fusion d’images infrarouges et visibles sont établies à l’aide de la mise en oeuvre d’une mise en registre précise des images sources acquises par différents capteurs. L’algorithme SURF-RANSAC est appliqué pour la mise en registre tout au long des travaux de recherche, ce qui conduit à des images mises en registre de façon très précise et des bénéfices accrus pour le traitement de fusion. Pour les questions de fusion d’images infrarouges et visibles, une série d’approches avancées et efficaces sont proposés. Une méthode standard de fusion à base de NSCT multi-canal est présente comme référence pour les approches de fusion proposées suivantes. Une approche conjointe de fusion, impliquant l’Adaptive-Gaussian NSCT et la transformée en ondelettes (Wavelet Transform, WT) est propose, ce qui conduit à des résultats de fusion qui sont meilleurs que ceux obtenus avec les méthodes non-adaptatives générales. Une approche de fusion basée sur le NSCT employant la détection comprime (CS, compressed sensing) et de la variation totale (TV) à des coefficients d’échantillons clairsemés et effectuant la reconstruction de coefficients fusionnés de façon précise est proposée, qui obtient de bien meilleurs résultats de fusion par le biais d’une pré-amélioration de l’image infrarouge et en diminuant les informations redondantes des coefficients de fusion. Une procédure de fusion basée sur le NSCT utilisant une technique de détection rapide de rétrécissement itératif comprimé (fast iterative-shrinking compressed sensing, FISCS) est proposée pour compresser les coefficients décomposés et reconstruire les coefficients fusionnés dans le processus de fusion, qui conduit à de meilleurs résultats plus rapidement et d’une manière efficace.

The art of building trust via e-communication channels: Post-acquisition integration as a special context

This study discusses the importance of establishing trust in post-acquisition integration context and how the use of e-channels facilitates or inhibits this process. The objective of this study is to analyze how the use of electronic communication channels influences the post-acquisition integration process in terms of trust establishment and overall integration efficiency, developing a framework as a result. Three sub-objectives are introduced: to find out the building blocks of trust in M&A’s, to analyse how the use of e-channels influence the process of trust establishment in post-acquisition integration context, and to define the consequences trust and use of e-channels have for the process. The theoretical background of the study includes literature and theories relating to trust establishment in post-acquisition integration context and how the use of e-channels influences the process of trust development on a general level. The empirical research is conducted as a single case study, based on key informant interviews. The interview data was collected between October 2015 and January 2016. Altogether nine interviews were realised; six with representatives from the acquiring firm and three with target firm members. Thematic analysis was selected as the main method for analysing and processing the qualitative data. This study finds that trust has an essential role in post-acquisition integration context, facilitating the integration process in various different ways. Hence, identifying the different building blocks of trust is important in order for members of the organisations to be better able establish and maintain trust. In today’s international business, the role of electronic communication channels has also increased in importance significantly and it was confirmed that these pose both challenges and possibilities for the development of interpersonal trust. One of the most important underlying factors influencing the trust levels via e-communication channels is the level of user’s comfort in using the different e-channels. Without sufficient and meaningful training, the communication conducted via these channels in inhibited in a number of ways. Hence, understanding the defining characteristics of e-communication together with the risks and opportunities related to the use of these can have far-reaching consequences for the post-acquisition integration process as a whole. The framework based on the findings and existing theory introduces the most central factors influencing the trust establishment together with the positive and negative consequences these have for the integration process. Moreover, organizational level consistency and the existence of shared guidelines on appropriate selection of communication channels according to the nature of the task at hand are seen as important

View-sensitive ERP repetition effects indicate automatic holistic processing of spatially unattended objects

This study examined the properties of ERP effects elicited by unattended (spatially uncued) objects using a short-lag repetition-priming paradigm. Same or different common objects were presented in a yoked prime-probe trial either as intact images or slightly scrambled (half-split) versions. Behaviourally, only objects in a familiar (intact) view showed priming. An enhanced negativity was observed at parietal and occipito-parietal electrode sites within the time window of the posterior N250 after the repetition of intact, but not split, images. An additional post-hoc N2pc analysis of the prime display supported that this result could not be attributed to differences in salience between familiar intact and split views. These results demonstrate that spatially unattended objects undergo visual processing but only if shown in familiar views, indicating a role of holistic processing of objects that is independent of attention.

Dithen: A Computation-as-a-Service Cloud Platform For Large-Scale Multimedia Processing

We present Dithen, a novel computation-as-a-service (CaaS) cloud platform specifically tailored to the parallel ex-ecution of large-scale multimedia tasks. Dithen handles the upload/download of both multimedia data and executable items, the assignment of compute units to multimedia workloads, and the reactive control of the available compute units to minimize the cloud infrastructure cost under deadline-abiding execution. Dithen combines three key properties: (i) the reactive assignment of individual multimedia tasks to available computing units according to availability and predetermined time-to-completion constraints; (ii) optimal resource estimation based on Kalman-filter estimates; (iii) the use of additive increase multiplicative decrease (AIMD) algorithms (famous for being the resource management in the transport control protocol) for the control of the number of units servicing workloads. The deployment of Dithen over Amazon EC2 spot instances is shown to be capable of processing more than 80,000 video transcoding, face detection and image processing tasks (equivalent to the processing of more than 116 GB of compressed data) for less than $1 in billing cost from EC2. Moreover, the proposed AIMD-based control mechanism, in conjunction with the Kalman estimates, is shown to provide for more than 27% reduction in EC2 spot instance cost against methods based on reactive resource estimation. Finally, Dithen is shown to offer a 38% to 500% reduction of the billing cost against the current state-of-the-art in CaaS platforms on Amazon EC2 (Amazon Lambda and Amazon Autoscale). A baseline version of Dithen is currently available at dithen.com.

Plane detection from monocular image sequences

AIRES, Kelson R. T. ; ARAÚJO, Hélder J. ; MEDEIROS, Adelardo A. D. . Plane Detection from Monocular Image Sequences. In: VISUALIZATION, IMAGING AND IMAGE PROCESSING, 2008, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Proceedings..., Palma de Mallorca: VIIP, 2008

Development of a real time Image analysis system for traffic monitoring applications.

Image processing offers unparalleled potential for traffic monitoring and control. For many years engineers have attempted to perfect the art of automatic data abstraction from sequences of video images. This paper outlines a research project undertaken at Napier University by the authors in the field of image processing for automatic traffic analysis. A software based system implementing TRIP algorithms to count cars and measure vehicle speed has been developed by members of the Transport Engineering Research Unit (TERU) at the University. The TRIP algorithm has been ported and evaluated on an IBM PC platform with a view to hardware implementation of the pre-processing routines required for vehicle detection. Results show that a software based traffic counting system is realisable for single window processing. Due to the high volume of data required to be processed for full frames or multiple lanes, system operations in real time are limited. Therefore specific hardware is required to be designed. The paper outlines a hardware design for implementation of inter-frame and background differencing, background updating and shadow removal techniques. Preliminary results showing the processing time and counting accuracy for the routines implemented in software are presented and a real time hardware pre-processing architecture is described.

Fish handling, processing and storage in Uganda: the role of the extension worker

The handling and processing of fish in Uganda has until recently been carried out exclusively by the artisanal fishermen and fish processors. Their operations have left much to be desired as the product is often of low quality 'and its keeping time is limited. The handling of fresh fish has been without refrigeration but with the recent establishment of commercial fish processing plants a cold chain of fish distribution is being set up for domestic and export markets. Some of the fishermen are beginning to ice their catch immediately after reaching the shore. It is hoped that fishmongers will increasingly find it more profitable to market their products iced. This will make fish available to a large sector of the population and in the process there will be reduced post-harvest losses.