Detection of fingertips based on the combination of color information and circle detection

Fingertips of human hand play an important role in hand-based interaction with computers. Therefore, identification of fingertips' positions on hand image is vital for developing a human computer interaction system. All most all of the research works for fingertips detection, initially isolate hand image from the background image. Most of these techniques develop color based segmentation methods because human skin color possess an exceptional characterises that can be used to isolate hand from the rest of the image quite easily. Sometimes color image segmentation becomes difficult due to illumination and background variations. To make it simple and reliable, this paper proposes a robust method for detecting fingertips of a hand image based on the combination of color segmentation and circle detection. Due to the characteristics of circularity of fingertips regions of hand boundary, any existing circle detection algorithms can be applied to detect circles at fingertips region. It is difficult to detect fingertips solely based on the circle detection method. For this reason, initially the proposed method detects all the circular regions on the image applying Circle Hough Transformation (CHT) then the fingertips are selected based on the color characteristics of the fingertips regions. Experimental results show that the proposed approach is promising.

Improving knowledge, fibre and textile quality, and communications

This is a technical report summarising activities to improve the knowledge about rare natural animal fibres in Australia, including aspects of their production, fibre quality, and textiles made from these fibres. It summarises results of Australian investment on these subjects, and makes recommendations about future investment. This is important, as there is limited scientific understanding of how to improve productivity, quality and financial returns from these industries in Australia.

Digital immigrant teachers learning for the information age

This study investigated how experienced teachers learned Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) during their professional development. With the introduction of ICT, experienced teachers encountered change becoming virtually displaced persons – digital immigrants; new settlers – endeavouring to obtain digital citizenship in order to survive in the information age. In the process, these teachers moved from learning how to push buttons, to applying software, and finally to changing their practice. They learned collectively and individually, in communities and networks, like immigrants and adult learners: by doing, experimenting and reflecting on ICT. Unfortunately, for these teachers-as-pedagogues, their focus on pedagogical theory during the action research they conducted, was not fully investigated or embraced during the year-long study. This study used a participant observation qualitative methodology to follow teachers in their university classroom. Interviews were conducted and documentation collected and verified by the teacher educator. The application of Kolb‘s, Gardner‘s, and Vygotsky‘s work allowed for the observation of these teachers within their sociocultural contexts. Kolb‘s work helped to understand their learning processes and Gardner‘s work indicated the learning abilities that these teachers valued in the new ICT environment. Meanwhile Vygotsky‘s work – and in particular three concepts, uchit, perezhivanija, and mislenija – presented a richer and more informed basis to understand immigration and change. Finally, this research proposes that teachers learn ICT through what is termed a hyperuchit model, consisting of developments; action; interaction; and reflection. The recommendation is that future teacher university ICT professional learning incorporates this hyperuchit model