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.

Maritime safety in the Gulf of Finland. Evaluation of the regulatory system

Growing traffic is believed to increase the risk of an accident in the Gulf of Finland. As the consequences of a large oil accident would be devastating in the vulnerable sea area, accident prevention is performed at the international, regional and national levels. Activities of shipping companies are governed with maritime safety policy instruments, which can be categorised into regulatory, economic and information instruments. The maritime regulatory system has been criticised for being inefficient because it has not been able to eliminate the violations that enable accidents. This report aims to discover how maritime governance systems or maritime safety policy instruments could be made more efficient in the future, in order to improve the maritime safety level. The results of the research are based on a literature review and nine expert interviews, with participants from shipping companies, interest groups and authorities. Based on the literature and the interviews, a suggestion can be made that in the future, instead of implementing new policy instruments, maritime safety risks should be eliminated by making the existing system more efficient and by influencing shipping companies’ safety culture and seafarers’ safety related attitudes. Based on this research, it can be stated that the development of maritime safety policy instruments should concentrate on harmonisation, automation and increasing national and cross-border cooperation. These three tasks could be primarily accomplished by developing the existing technology. Human error plays a role in a significant number of maritime accidents. Because of this, improving companies’ safety culture and voluntary activities that go beyond laws are acknowledged as potential ways of improving maritime safety. In the future, maritime regulatory system should be developed into a direction where the private sector has better possibilities to take part in decision-making.

Energy-efficient control strategies for variable speed driven parallel pumping systems based on pump operation point monitoring with frequency converters

The pumping processes requiring wide range of flow are often equipped with parallelconnected centrifugal pumps. In parallel pumping systems, the use of variable speed control allows that the required output for the process can be delivered with a varying number of operated pump units and selected rotational speed references. However, the optimization of the parallel-connected rotational speed controlled pump units often requires adaptive modelling of both parallel pump characteristics and the surrounding system in varying operation conditions. The available information required for the system modelling in typical parallel pumping applications such as waste water treatment and various cooling and water delivery pumping tasks can be limited, and the lack of real-time operation point monitoring often sets limits for accurate energy efficiency optimization. Hence, alternatives for easily implementable control strategies which can be adopted with minimum system data are necessary. This doctoral thesis concentrates on the methods that allow the energy efficient use of variable speed controlled parallel pumps in system scenarios in which the parallel pump units consist of a centrifugal pump, an electric motor, and a frequency converter. Firstly, the suitable operation conditions for variable speed controlled parallel pumps are studied. Secondly, methods for determining the output of each parallel pump unit using characteristic curve-based operation point estimation with frequency converter are discussed. Thirdly, the implementation of the control strategy based on real-time pump operation point estimation and sub-optimization of each parallel pump unit is studied. The findings of the thesis support the idea that the energy efficiency of the pumping can be increased without the installation of new, more efficient components in the systems by simply adopting suitable control strategies. An easily implementable and adaptive control strategy for variable speed controlled parallel pumping systems can be created by utilizing the pump operation point estimation available in modern frequency converters. Hence, additional real-time flow metering, start-up measurements, and detailed system model are unnecessary, and the pumping task can be fulfilled by determining a speed reference for each parallel-pump unit which suggests the energy efficient operation of the pumping system.

Ensuring the efficient utilization of Business Intelligence

In recent years, chief information officers (CIOs) around the world have identified Business Intelligence (BI) as their top priority and as the best way to enhance their enterprises competitiveness. Yet, many enterprises are struggling to realize the business value that BI promises. This discrepancy causes important questions, for example: what are the critical success factors of Business Intelligence and, more importantly, how it can be ensured that a Business Intelligence program enhances enterprises competitiveness. The main objective of the study is to find out how it can be ensured that a BI program meets its goals in providing competitive advantage to an enterprise. The objective is approached with a literature review and a qualitative case study. For the literature review the main objective populates three research questions (RQs); RQ1: What is Business Intelligence and why is it important for modern enterprises? RQ2: What are the critical success factors of Business Intelligence programs? RQ3: How it can be ensured that CSFs are met? The qualitative case study covers the BI program of a Finnish global manufacturer company. The research questions for the case study are as follows; RQ4: What is the current state of the case company’s BI program and what are the key areas for improvement? RQ5: In what ways the case company’s Business Intelligence program could be improved? The case company’s BI program is researched using the following methods; action research, semi-structured interviews, maturity assessment and benchmarking. The literature review shows that Business Intelligence is a technology-based information process that contains a series of systematic activities, which are driven by the specific information needs of decision-makers. The objective of BI is to provide accurate, timely, fact-based information, which enables taking actions that lead to achieving competitive advantage. There are many reasons for the importance of Business Intelligence, two of the most important being; 1) It helps to bridge the gap between an enterprise’s current and its desired performance, and 2) It helps enterprises to be in alignment with key performance indicators meaning it helps an enterprise to align towards its key objectives. The literature review also shows that there are known critical success factors (CSFs) for Business Intelligence programs which have to be met if the above mentioned value is wanted to be achieved, for example; committed management support and sponsorship, business-driven development approach and sustainable data quality. The literature review shows that the most common challenges are related to these CSFs and, more importantly, that overcoming these challenges requires a more comprehensive form of BI, called Enterprise Performance Management (EPM). EPM links measurement to strategy by focusing on what is measured and why. The case study shows that many of the challenges faced in the case company’s BI program are related to the above-mentioned CSFs. The main challenges are; lack of support and sponsorship from business, lack of visibility to overall business performance, lack of rigid BI development process, lack of clear purpose for the BI program and poor data quality. To overcome these challenges the case company should define and design an enterprise metrics framework, make sure that BI development requirements are gathered and prioritized by business, focus on data quality and ownership, and finally define clear goals for the BI program and then support and sponsor these goals.

OCR Correction Tool for Linguistic Corpora

We introduce a new tool for correcting OCR errors of materials in a repository of cultural materials. The poster is aimed to all who are interested in digital humanities and who might find our tool useful. The poster will focus on the OCR correction tool and on the background processes. We have started a project on materials published in Finno-Ugric languages in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s. The materials are digitised in Russia. As they arrive, we publish them in DSpace (fennougrica.kansalliskirjasto.fi). For research purposes, the results of the OCR must be corrected manually. For this we have built a new tool. Although similar tools exist, we found in-house development necessary in order to serve the researchers' needs. The tool enables exporting the corrected text as required by the researchers. It makes it possible to distribute the correction tasks and their supervision. After a supervisor has approved a text as finalised, the new version of the work will replace the old one in DSpace. The project has - benefitted the small language communities, - opened channels for cooperation in Russia. - increased our capabilities in digital humanities. The OCR correction tool will be available to others.

OCR Correction Tool for Linguistic Corpora

Poster at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014