WorldWideScience

Sample records for synthetic vision systems

  1. Enhanced/Synthetic Vision Systems - Human factors research and implications for future systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foyle, David C.; Ahumada, Albert J.; Larimer, James; Sweet, Barbara T.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reviews recent human factors research studies conducted in the Aerospace Human Factors Research Division at NASA Ames Research Center related to the development and usage of Enhanced or Synthetic Vision Systems. Research discussed includes studies of field of view (FOV), representational differences of infrared (IR) imagery, head-up display (HUD) symbology, HUD advanced concept designs, sensor fusion, and sensor/database fusion and evaluation. Implications for the design and usage of Enhanced or Synthetic Vision Systems are discussed.

  2. Synthetic vision systems: operational considerations simulation experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramer, Lynda J.; Williams, Steven P.; Bailey, Randall E.; Glaab, Louis J.

    2007-04-01

    Synthetic vision is a computer-generated image of the external scene topography that is generated from aircraft attitude, high-precision navigation information, and data of the terrain, obstacles, cultural features, and other required flight information. A synthetic vision system (SVS) enhances this basic functionality with real-time integrity to ensure the validity of the databases, perform obstacle detection and independent navigation accuracy verification, and provide traffic surveillance. Over the last five years, NASA and its industry partners have developed and deployed SVS technologies for commercial, business, and general aviation aircraft which have been shown to provide significant improvements in terrain awareness and reductions in the potential for Controlled-Flight-Into-Terrain incidents / accidents compared to current generation cockpit technologies. It has been hypothesized that SVS displays can greatly improve the safety and operational flexibility of flight in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) to a level comparable to clear-day Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC), regardless of actual weather conditions or time of day. An experiment was conducted to evaluate SVS and SVS-related technologies as well as the influence of where the information is provided to the pilot (e.g., on a Head-Up or Head-Down Display) for consideration in defining landing minima based upon aircraft and airport equipage. The "operational considerations" evaluated under this effort included reduced visibility, decision altitudes, and airport equipage requirements, such as approach lighting systems, for SVS-equipped aircraft. Subjective results from the present study suggest that synthetic vision imagery on both head-up and head-down displays may offer benefits in situation awareness; workload; and approach and landing performance in the visibility levels, approach lighting systems, and decision altitudes tested.

  3. Synthetic Vision Systems - Operational Considerations Simulation Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramer, Lynda J.; Williams, Steven P.; Bailey, Randall E.; Glaab, Louis J.

    2007-01-01

    Synthetic vision is a computer-generated image of the external scene topography that is generated from aircraft attitude, high-precision navigation information, and data of the terrain, obstacles, cultural features, and other required flight information. A synthetic vision system (SVS) enhances this basic functionality with real-time integrity to ensure the validity of the databases, perform obstacle detection and independent navigation accuracy verification, and provide traffic surveillance. Over the last five years, NASA and its industry partners have developed and deployed SVS technologies for commercial, business, and general aviation aircraft which have been shown to provide significant improvements in terrain awareness and reductions in the potential for Controlled-Flight-Into-Terrain incidents/accidents compared to current generation cockpit technologies. It has been hypothesized that SVS displays can greatly improve the safety and operational flexibility of flight in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) to a level comparable to clear-day Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC), regardless of actual weather conditions or time of day. An experiment was conducted to evaluate SVS and SVS-related technologies as well as the influence of where the information is provided to the pilot (e.g., on a Head-Up or Head-Down Display) for consideration in defining landing minima based upon aircraft and airport equipage. The "operational considerations" evaluated under this effort included reduced visibility, decision altitudes, and airport equipage requirements, such as approach lighting systems, for SVS-equipped aircraft. Subjective results from the present study suggest that synthetic vision imagery on both head-up and head-down displays may offer benefits in situation awareness; workload; and approach and landing performance in the visibility levels, approach lighting systems, and decision altitudes tested.

  4. Augmentation of Cognition and Perception Through Advanced Synthetic Vision Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Kramer, Lynda J.; Bailey, Randall E.; Arthur, Jarvis J.; Williams, Steve P.; McNabb, Jennifer

    2005-01-01

    Synthetic Vision System technology augments reality and creates a virtual visual meteorological condition that extends a pilot's cognitive and perceptual capabilities during flight operations when outside visibility is restricted. The paper describes the NASA Synthetic Vision System for commercial aviation with an emphasis on how the technology achieves Augmented Cognition objectives.

  5. Synthetic vision and memory for autonomous virtual humans

    OpenAIRE

    PETERS, CHRISTOPHER; O'SULLIVAN, CAROL ANN

    2002-01-01

    PUBLISHED A memory model based on ?stage theory?, an influential concept of memory from the field of cognitive psychology, is presented for application to autonomous virtual humans. The virtual human senses external stimuli through a synthetic vision system. The vision system incorporates multiple modes of vision in order to accommodate a perceptual attention approach. The memory model is used to store perceived and attended object information at different stages in a filtering...

  6. Synthetic vision to augment sensor based vision for remotely piloted vehicles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tadema, J.; Koeners, J.; Theunissen, E.

    2006-01-01

    In the past fifteen years, several research programs have demonstrated potential advantages of synthetic vision technology for manned aviation. More recently, some research programs have focused on integrating synthetic vision technology into control stations for remotely controlled aircraft. The

  7. Enhanced Flight Vision Systems and Synthetic Vision Systems for NextGen Approach and Landing Operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramer, Lynda J.; Bailey, Randall E.; Ellis, Kyle K. E.; Williams, Steven P.; Arthur, Jarvis J., III; Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Shelton, Kevin J.

    2013-01-01

    Synthetic Vision Systems and Enhanced Flight Vision System (SVS/EFVS) technologies have the potential to provide additional margins of safety for aircrew performance and enable operational improvements for low visibility operations in the terminal area environment with equivalent efficiency as visual operations. To meet this potential, research is needed for effective technology development and implementation of regulatory standards and design guidance to support introduction and use of SVS/EFVS advanced cockpit vision technologies in Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) operations. A fixed-base pilot-in-the-loop simulation test was conducted at NASA Langley Research Center that evaluated the use of SVS/EFVS in NextGen low visibility approach and landing operations. Twelve crews flew approach and landing operations in a simulated NextGen Chicago O'Hare environment. Various scenarios tested the potential for using EFVS to conduct approach, landing, and roll-out operations in visibility as low as 1000 feet runway visual range (RVR). Also, SVS was tested to evaluate the potential for lowering decision heights (DH) on certain instrument approach procedures below what can be flown today. Expanding the portion of the visual segment in which EFVS can be used in lieu of natural vision from 100 feet above the touchdown zone elevation to touchdown and rollout in visibilities as low as 1000 feet RVR appears to be viable as touchdown performance was acceptable without any apparent workload penalties. A lower DH of 150 feet and/or possibly reduced visibility minima using SVS appears to be viable when implemented on a Head-Up Display, but the landing data suggests further study for head-down implementations.

  8. Synthetic vision display evaluation studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regal, David M.; Whittington, David H.

    1994-01-01

    The goal of this research was to help us understand the display requirements for a synthetic vision system for the High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT). Four experiments were conducted to examine the effects of different levels of perceptual cue complexity in displays used by pilots in a flare and landing task. Increased levels of texture mapping of terrain and runway produced mixed results, including harder but shorter landings and a lower flare initiation altitude. Under higher workload conditions, increased texture resulted in an improvement in performance. An increase in familiar size cues did not result in improved performance. Only a small difference was found between displays using two patterns of high resolution texture mapping. The effects of increased perceptual cue complexity on performance was not as strong as would be predicted from the pilot's subjective reports or from related literature. A description of the role of a synthetic vision system in the High Speed Civil Transport is provide along with a literature review covering applied research related to perceptual cue usage in aircraft displays.

  9. Commercial Flight Crew Decision-Making during Low-Visibility Approach Operations Using Fused Synthetic/Enhanced Vision Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramer, Lynda J.; Bailey, Randall E.; Prinzel, Lawrence J., III

    2007-01-01

    NASA is investigating revolutionary crew-vehicle interface technologies that strive to proactively overcome aircraft safety barriers that would otherwise constrain the full realization of the next-generation air transportation system. A fixed-based piloted simulation experiment was conducted to evaluate the complementary use of Synthetic and Enhanced Vision technologies. Specific focus was placed on new techniques for integration and/or fusion of Enhanced and Synthetic Vision and its impact within a two-crew flight deck on the crew's decision-making process during low-visibility approach and landing operations. Overall, the experimental data showed that significant improvements in situation awareness, without concomitant increases in workload and display clutter, could be provided by the integration and/or fusion of synthetic and enhanced vision technologies for the pilot-flying and the pilot-not-flying. During non-normal operations, the ability of the crew to handle substantial navigational errors and runway incursions were neither improved nor adversely impacted by the display concepts. The addition of Enhanced Vision may not, unto itself, provide an improvement in runway incursion detection without being specifically tailored for this application. Existing enhanced vision system procedures were effectively used in the crew decision-making process during approach and missed approach operations but having to forcibly transition from an excellent FLIR image to natural vision by 100 ft above field level was awkward for the pilot-flying.

  10. System for synthetic vision and augmented reality in future flight decks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behringer, Reinhold; Tam, Clement K.; McGee, Joshua H.; Sundareswaran, Venkataraman; Vassiliou, Marius S.

    2000-06-01

    Rockwell Science Center is investigating novel human-computer interface techniques for enhancing the situational awareness in future flight decks. One aspect is to provide intuitive displays which provide the vital information and the spatial awareness by augmenting the real world with an overlay of relevant information registered to the real world. Such Augmented Reality (AR) techniques can be employed during bad weather scenarios to permit flying in Visual Flight Rules (VFR) in conditions which would normally require Instrumental Flight Rules (IFR). These systems could easily be implemented on heads-up displays (HUD). The advantage of AR systems vs. purely synthetic vision (SV) systems is that the pilot can relate the information overlay to real objects in the world, whereas SV systems provide a constant virtual view, where inconsistencies can hardly be detected. The development of components for such a system led to a demonstrator implemented on a PC. A camera grabs video images which are overlaid with registered information, Orientation of the camera is obtained from an inclinometer and a magnetometer, position is acquired from GPS. In a possible implementation in an airplane, the on-board attitude information can be used for obtaining correct registration. If visibility is sufficient, computer vision modules can be used to fine-tune the registration by matching visual clues with database features. Such technology would be especially useful for landing approaches. The current demonstrator provides a frame-rate of 15 fps, using a live video feed as background and an overlay of avionics symbology in the foreground. In addition, terrain rendering from a 1 arc sec. digital elevation model database can be overlaid to provide synthetic vision in case of limited visibility. For true outdoor testing (on ground level), the system has been implemented on a wearable computer.

  11. Multi-spectrum-based enhanced synthetic vision system for aircraft DVE operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kashyap, Sudesh K.; Naidu, V. P. S.; Shanthakumar, N.

    2016-04-01

    This paper focus on R&D being carried out at CSIR-NAL on Enhanced Synthetic Vision System (ESVS) for Indian regional transport aircraft to enhance all weather operational capabilities with safety and pilot Situation Awareness (SA) improvements. Flight simulator has been developed to study ESVS related technologies and to develop ESVS operational concepts for all weather approach and landing and to provide quantitative and qualitative information that could be used to develop criteria for all-weather approach and landing at regional airports in India. Enhanced Vision System (EVS) hardware prototype with long wave Infrared sensor and low light CMOS camera is used to carry out few field trials on ground vehicle at airport runway at different visibility conditions. Data acquisition and playback system has been developed to capture EVS sensor data (image) in time synch with test vehicle inertial navigation data during EVS field experiments and to playback the experimental data on ESVS flight simulator for ESVS research and concept studies. Efforts are on to conduct EVS flight experiments on CSIR-NAL research aircraft HANSA in Degraded Visual Environment (DVE).

  12. Synthetic vision and memory model for virtual human - biomed 2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yue; Kang, Jinsheng; Wright, David

    2010-01-01

    This paper describes the methods and case studies of a novel synthetic vision and memory model for virtual human. The synthetic vision module simulates the biological / optical abilities and limitations of the human vision. The module is based on a series of collision detection between the boundary of virtual humans field of vision (FOV) volume and the surface of objects in a recreated 3D environment. The memory module simulates a short-term memory capability by employing a simplified memory structure (first-in-first-out stack). The synthetic vision and memory model has been integrated into a virtual human modelling project, Intelligent Virtual Modelling. The project aimed to improve the realism and autonomy of virtual humans.

  13. Evaluation of Fused Synthetic and Enhanced Vision Display Concepts for Low-Visibility Approach and Landing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bailey, Randall E.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Wilz, Susan J.

    2009-01-01

    NASA is developing revolutionary crew-vehicle interface technologies that strive to proactively overcome aircraft safety barriers that would otherwise constrain the full realization of the next generation air transportation system. A piloted simulation experiment was conducted to evaluate the complementary use of Synthetic and Enhanced Vision technologies. Specific focus was placed on new techniques for integration and/or fusion of Enhanced and Synthetic Vision and its impact within a two-crew flight deck during low-visibility approach and landing operations. Overall, the experimental data showed that significant improvements in situation awareness, without concomitant increases in workload and display clutter, could be provided by the integration and/or fusion of synthetic and enhanced vision technologies for the pilot-flying and the pilot-not-flying. Improvements in lateral path control performance were realized when the Head-Up Display concepts included a tunnel, independent of the imagery (enhanced vision or fusion of enhanced and synthetic vision) presented with it. During non-normal operations, the ability of the crew to handle substantial navigational errors and runway incursions were neither improved nor adversely impacted by the display concepts. The addition of Enhanced Vision may not, of itself, provide an improvement in runway incursion detection without being specifically tailored for this application.

  14. Visual cues in low-level flight - Implications for pilotage, training, simulation, and enhanced/synthetic vision systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foyle, David C.; Kaiser, Mary K.; Johnson, Walter W.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reviews some of the sources of visual information that are available in the out-the-window scene and describes how these visual cues are important for routine pilotage and training, as well as the development of simulator visual systems and enhanced or synthetic vision systems for aircraft cockpits. It is shown how these visual cues may change or disappear under environmental or sensor conditions, and how the visual scene can be augmented by advanced displays to capitalize on the pilot's excellent ability to extract visual information from the visual scene.

  15. Transition of Attention in Terminal Area NextGen Operations Using Synthetic Vision Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Kyle K. E.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Shelton, Kevin J.; Arthur, Shelton, J. J., III; Prinzel, Lance J., III; Norman, Robert M.

    2011-01-01

    This experiment investigates the capability of Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) to provide significant situation awareness in terminal area operations, specifically in low visibility conditions. The use of a Head-Up Display (HUD) and Head-Down Displays (HDD) with SVS is contrasted to baseline standard head down displays in terms of induced workload and pilot behavior in 1400 RVR visibility levels. Variances across performance and pilot behavior were reviewed for acceptability when using HUD or HDD with SVS under reduced minimums to acquire the necessary visual components to continue to land. The data suggest superior performance for HUD implementations. Improved attentional behavior is also suggested for HDD implementations of SVS for low-visibility approach and landing operations.

  16. INVIS : Integrated night vision surveillance and observation system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Toet, A.; Hogervorst, M.A.; Dijk, J.; Son, R. van

    2010-01-01

    We present the design and first field trial results of the all-day all-weather INVIS Integrated Night Vision surveillance and observation System. The INVIS augments a dynamic three-band false-color nightvision image with synthetic 3D imagery in a real-time display. The night vision sensor suite

  17. Synthetic Vision System Commercial Aircraft Flight Deck Display Technologies for Unusual Attitude Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Ellis, Kyle E.; Arthur, Jarvis J.; Nicholas, Stephanie N.; Kiggins, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    A Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) study of 18 worldwide loss-of-control accidents and incidents determined that the lack of external visual references was associated with a flight crew's loss of attitude awareness or energy state awareness in 17 of these events. Therefore, CAST recommended development and implementation of virtual day-Visual Meteorological Condition (VMC) display systems, such as synthetic vision systems, which can promote flight crew attitude awareness similar to a day-VMC environment. This paper describes the results of a high-fidelity, large transport aircraft simulation experiment that evaluated virtual day-VMC displays and a "background attitude indicator" concept as an aid to pilots in recovery from unusual attitudes. Twelve commercial airline pilots performed multiple unusual attitude recoveries and both quantitative and qualitative dependent measures were collected. Experimental results and future research directions under this CAST initiative and the NASA "Technologies for Airplane State Awareness" research project are described.

  18. Enhanced/synthetic vision and head-worn display technologies for terminal maneuvering area NextGen operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arthur, Jarvis J., III; Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Williams, Steven P.; Bailey, Randall E.; Shelton, Kevin J.; Norman, R. Mike

    2011-06-01

    NASA is researching innovative technologies for the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) to provide a "Better-Than-Visual" (BTV) capability as adjunct to "Equivalent Visual Operations" (EVO); that is, airport throughputs equivalent to that normally achieved during Visual Flight Rules (VFR) operations rates with equivalent and better safety in all weather and visibility conditions including Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). These new technologies build on proven flight deck systems and leverage synthetic and enhanced vision systems. Two piloted simulation studies were conducted to access the use of a Head-Worn Display (HWD) with head tracking for synthetic and enhanced vision systems concepts. The first experiment evaluated the use a HWD for equivalent visual operations to San Francisco International Airport (airport identifier: KSFO) compared to a visual concept and a head-down display concept. A second experiment evaluated symbology variations under different visibility conditions using a HWD during taxi operations at Chicago O'Hare airport (airport identifier: KORD). Two experiments were conducted, one in a simulated San Francisco airport (KSFO) approach operation and the other, in simulated Chicago O'Hare surface operations, evaluating enhanced/synthetic vision and head-worn display technologies for NextGen operations. While flying a closely-spaced parallel approach to KSFO, pilots rated the HWD, under low-visibility conditions, equivalent to the out-the-window condition, under unlimited visibility, in terms of situational awareness (SA) and mental workload compared to a head-down enhanced vision system. There were no differences between the 3 display concepts in terms of traffic spacing and distance and the pilot decision-making to land or go-around. For the KORD experiment, the visibility condition was not a factor in pilot's rating of clutter effects from symbology. Several concepts for enhanced implementations of an unlimited field

  19. Synthetic and Enhanced Vision Systems for NextGen (SEVS) Simulation and Flight Test Performance Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shelton, Kevin J.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Ellis,Kyle K.; Rehfeld, Sherri A.

    2012-01-01

    The Synthetic and Enhanced Vision Systems for NextGen (SEVS) simulation and flight tests are jointly sponsored by NASA's Aviation Safety Program, Vehicle Systems Safety Technology project and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The flight tests were conducted by a team of Honeywell, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation and NASA personnel with the goal of obtaining pilot-in-the-loop test data for flight validation, verification, and demonstration of selected SEVS operational and system-level performance capabilities. Nine test flights (38 flight hours) were conducted over the summer and fall of 2011. The evaluations were flown in Gulfstream.s G450 flight test aircraft outfitted with the SEVS technology under very low visibility instrument meteorological conditions. Evaluation pilots flew 108 approaches in low visibility weather conditions (600 ft to 2400 ft visibility) into various airports from Louisiana to Maine. In-situ flight performance and subjective workload and acceptability data were collected in collaboration with ground simulation studies at LaRC.s Research Flight Deck simulator.

  20. Using Vision System Technologies for Offset Approaches in Low Visibility Operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramer, Lynda J.; Bailey, Randall E.; Ellis, Kyle K.

    2015-01-01

    Flight deck-based vision systems, such as Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) and Enhanced Flight Vision Systems (EFVS), have the potential to provide additional margins of safety for aircrew performance and enable the implementation of operational improvements for low visibility surface, arrival, and departure operations in the terminal environment with equivalent efficiency to visual operations. Twelve air transport-rated crews participated in a motion-base simulation experiment to evaluate the use of SVS/EFVS in Next Generation Air Transportation System low visibility approach and landing operations at Chicago O'Hare airport. Three monochromatic, collimated head-up display (HUD) concepts (conventional HUD, SVS HUD, and EFVS HUD) and three instrument approach types (straight-in, 3-degree offset, 15-degree offset) were experimentally varied to test the efficacy of the SVS/EFVS HUD concepts for offset approach operations. The findings suggest making offset approaches in low visibility conditions with an EFVS HUD or SVS HUD appear feasible. Regardless of offset approach angle or HUD concept being flown, all approaches had comparable ILS tracking during the instrument segment and were within the lateral confines of the runway with acceptable sink rates during the visual segment of the approach. Keywords: Enhanced Flight Vision Systems; Synthetic Vision Systems; Head-up Display; NextGen

  1. Dynamic Tunnel Usability Study: Format Recommendations for Synthetic Vision System Primary Flight Displays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arthur, Jarvis J., III; Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Kramer, Lynda J.; Bailey, Randall E.

    2006-01-01

    A usability study evaluating dynamic tunnel concepts has been completed under the Aviation Safety and Security Program, Synthetic Vision Systems Project. The usability study was conducted in the Visual Imaging Simulator for Transport Aircraft Systems (VISTAS) III simulator in the form of questionnaires and pilot-in-the-loop simulation sessions. Twelve commercial pilots participated in the study to determine their preferences via paired comparisons and subjective rankings regarding the color, line thickness and sensitivity of the dynamic tunnel. The results of the study showed that color was not significant in pilot preference paired comparisons or in pilot rankings. Line thickness was significant for both pilot preference paired comparisons and in pilot rankings. The preferred line/halo thickness combination was a line width of 3 pixels and a halo of 4 pixels. Finally, pilots were asked their preference for the current dynamic tunnel compared to a less sensitive dynamic tunnel. The current dynamic tunnel constantly gives feedback to the pilot with regard to path error while the less sensitive tunnel only changes as the path error approaches the edges of the tunnel. The tunnel sensitivity comparison results were not statistically significant.

  2. Cognitive mapping based on synthetic vision?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helmetag, Arnd; Halbig, Christian; Kubbat, Wolfgang; Schmidt, Rainer

    1999-07-01

    The analysis of accidents focused our work on the avoidance of 'Controlled Flight Into Terrain' caused by insufficient situation awareness. Analysis of safety concepts led us to the design of the proposed synthetic vision system that will be described. Since most information on these 3D-Displays is shown in a graphical way, it can intuitively be understood by the pilot. What are the new possibilities using SVS enhancing situation awareness? First, detection of ground collision hazard is possible by monitoring a perspective Primary Flight Display. Under the psychological point of view it is based on the perception of expanding objects in the visual flow field. Supported by a Navigation Display a local conflict resolution can be mentally worked out very fast. Secondly, it is possible to follow a 3D flight path visualized as a 'Tunnel in the sky.' This can further be improved by using a flight path prediction. These are the prerequisites for a safe and adequate movement in any kind of spatial environment. However situation awareness requires the ability of navigation and spatial problem solving. Both abilities are based on higher cognitive functions in real as well as in a synthetic environment. In this paper the current training concept will be analyzed. Advantages resulting from the integration of a SVS concerning pilot training will be discussed and necessary requirements in terrain depiction will be pinpointed. Finally a modified Computer Based Training for the familiarization with Salzburg Airport for a SVS equipped aircraft will be presented. It is developed by Darmstadt University of Technology in co-operation with Lufthansa Flight Training.

  3. Navigation integrity monitoring and obstacle detection for enhanced-vision systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korn, Bernd; Doehler, Hans-Ullrich; Hecker, Peter

    2001-08-01

    Typically, Enhanced Vision (EV) systems consist of two main parts, sensor vision and synthetic vision. Synthetic vision usually generates a virtual out-the-window view using databases and accurate navigation data, e. g. provided by differential GPS (DGPS). The reliability of the synthetic vision highly depends on both, the accuracy of the used database and the integrity of the navigation data. But especially in GPS based systems, the integrity of the navigation can't be guaranteed. Furthermore, only objects that are stored in the database can be displayed to the pilot. Consequently, unexpected obstacles are invisible and this might cause severe problems. Therefore, additional information has to be extracted from sensor data to overcome these problems. In particular, the sensor data analysis has to identify obstacles and has to monitor the integrity of databases and navigation. Furthermore, if a lack of integrity arises, navigation data, e.g. the relative position of runway and aircraft, has to be extracted directly from the sensor data. The main contribution of this paper is about the realization of these three sensor data analysis tasks within our EV system, which uses the HiVision 35 GHz MMW radar of EADS, Ulm as the primary EV sensor. For the integrity monitoring, objects extracted from radar images are registered with both database objects and objects (e. g. other aircrafts) transmitted via data link. This results in a classification into known and unknown radar image objects and consequently, in a validation of the integrity of database and navigation. Furthermore, special runway structures are searched for in the radar image where they should appear. The outcome of this runway check contributes to the integrity analysis, too. Concurrent to this investigation a radar image based navigation is performed without using neither precision navigation nor detailed database information to determine the aircraft's position relative to the runway. The performance of our

  4. Using Vision System Technologies to Enable Operational Improvements for Low Visibility Approach and Landing Operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramer, Lynda J.; Ellis, Kyle K. E.; Bailey, Randall E.; Williams, Steven P.; Severance, Kurt; Le Vie, Lisa R.; Comstock, James R.

    2014-01-01

    Flight deck-based vision systems, such as Synthetic and Enhanced Vision System (SEVS) technologies, have the potential to provide additional margins of safety for aircrew performance and enable the implementation of operational improvements for low visibility surface, arrival, and departure operations in the terminal environment with equivalent efficiency to visual operations. To achieve this potential, research is required for effective technology development and implementation based upon human factors design and regulatory guidance. This research supports the introduction and use of Synthetic Vision Systems and Enhanced Flight Vision Systems (SVS/EFVS) as advanced cockpit vision technologies in Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) operations. Twelve air transport-rated crews participated in a motion-base simulation experiment to evaluate the use of SVS/EFVS in NextGen low visibility approach and landing operations. Three monochromatic, collimated head-up display (HUD) concepts (conventional HUD, SVS HUD, and EFVS HUD) and two color head-down primary flight display (PFD) concepts (conventional PFD, SVS PFD) were evaluated in a simulated NextGen Chicago O'Hare terminal environment. Additionally, the instrument approach type (no offset, 3 degree offset, 15 degree offset) was experimentally varied to test the efficacy of the HUD concepts for offset approach operations. The data showed that touchdown landing performance were excellent regardless of SEVS concept or type of offset instrument approach being flown. Subjective assessments of mental workload and situation awareness indicated that making offset approaches in low visibility conditions with an EFVS HUD or SVS HUD may be feasible.

  5. Advances in real-time millimeter-wave imaging radiometers for avionic synthetic vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lovberg, John A.; Chou, Ri-Chee; Martin, Christopher A.; Galliano, Joseph A., Jr.

    1995-06-01

    Millimeter-wave imaging has advantages over conventional visible or infrared imaging for many applications because millimeter-wave signals can travel through fog, snow, dust, and clouds with much less attenuation than infrared or visible light waves. Additionally, passive imaging systems avoid many problems associated with active radar imaging systems, such as radar clutter, glint, and multi-path return. ThermoTrex Corporation previously reported on its development of a passive imaging radiometer that uses an array of frequency-scanned antennas coupled to a multichannel acousto-optic spectrum analyzer (Bragg-cell) to form visible images of a scene through the acquisition of thermal blackbody radiation in the millimeter-wave spectrum. The output from the Bragg cell is imaged by a standard video camera and passed to a computer for normalization and display at real-time frame rates. An application of this system is its incorporation as part of an enhanced vision system to provide pilots with a synthetic view of a runway in fog and during other adverse weather conditions. Ongoing improvements to a 94 GHz imaging system and examples of recent images taken with this system will be presented. Additionally, the development of dielectric antennas and an electro- optic-based processor for improved system performance, and the development of an `ultra- compact' 220 GHz imaging system will be discussed.

  6. Pose Self-Calibration of Stereo Vision Systems for Autonomous Vehicle Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musleh, Basam; Martín, David; Armingol, José María; de la Escalera, Arturo

    2016-09-14

    Nowadays, intelligent systems applied to vehicles have grown very rapidly; their goal is not only the improvement of safety, but also making autonomous driving possible. Many of these intelligent systems are based on making use of computer vision in order to know the environment and act accordingly. It is of great importance to be able to estimate the pose of the vision system because the measurement matching between the perception system (pixels) and the vehicle environment (meters) depends on the relative position between the perception system and the environment. A new method of camera pose estimation for stereo systems is presented in this paper, whose main contribution regarding the state of the art on the subject is the estimation of the pitch angle without being affected by the roll angle. The validation of the self-calibration method is accomplished by comparing it with relevant methods of camera pose estimation, where a synthetic sequence is used in order to measure the continuous error with a ground truth. This validation is enriched by the experimental results of the method in real traffic environments.

  7. Pose Self-Calibration of Stereo Vision Systems for Autonomous Vehicle Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musleh, Basam; Martín, David; Armingol, José María; de la Escalera, Arturo

    2016-01-01

    Nowadays, intelligent systems applied to vehicles have grown very rapidly; their goal is not only the improvement of safety, but also making autonomous driving possible. Many of these intelligent systems are based on making use of computer vision in order to know the environment and act accordingly. It is of great importance to be able to estimate the pose of the vision system because the measurement matching between the perception system (pixels) and the vehicle environment (meters) depends on the relative position between the perception system and the environment. A new method of camera pose estimation for stereo systems is presented in this paper, whose main contribution regarding the state of the art on the subject is the estimation of the pitch angle without being affected by the roll angle. The validation of the self-calibration method is accomplished by comparing it with relevant methods of camera pose estimation, where a synthetic sequence is used in order to measure the continuous error with a ground truth. This validation is enriched by the experimental results of the method in real traffic environments. PMID:27649178

  8. Evaluation of Synthetic Vision Display Concepts for Improved Awareness in Unusual Attitude Recovery Scenarios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholas, Stephanie

    2016-01-01

    A recent study conducted by the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) determined 40 percent of all fixed-wing fatal accidents, between 2001 and 2011, were caused by Loss-of-Control (LOC) in flight (National Transportation Safety Board, 2015). Based on their findings, CAST recommended manufacturers develop and implement virtual day-visual meteorological conditions (VMC) display systems, such as synthetic vision or equivalent systems (CAST, 2016). In a 2015 simulation study conducted at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC), researchers gathered to test and evaluate virtual day-VMC displays under realistic flight operation scenarios capable of inducing reduced attention states in pilots. Each display concept was evaluated to determine its efficacy to improve attitude awareness. During the experiment, Evaluation Pilots (EPs) were shown the following three display concepts on the Primary Flight Display (PFD): Baseline, Synthetic Vision (SV) with color gradient, and SV with texture. The baseline configuration was a standard, conventional 'blue over brown' display. Experiment scenarios were simulated over water to evaluate Unusual Attitude (UA) recovery over 'featureless terrain' environments. Thus, the SV with color gradient configuration presented a 'blue over blue' display with a linear blue color progression, to differentiate attitude changes between sky and ocean. The SV with texture configuration presented a 'blue over blue' display with a black checkerboard texture atop a synthetic ocean. These displays were paired with a Background Attitude Indicator (BAI) concept. The BAI was presented across all four Head-Down Displays (HDDs), displaying a wide field-of-view blue-over-blue attitude indicator. The BAI aligned with the PFD and showed through the background of the navigation displays with opaque transparency. Each EP participated in a two-part experiment series with a total seventy-five trial runs: Part I included a set of twenty-five Unusual Attitude Recovery (UAR

  9. The Efficacy of Using Synthetic Vision Terrain-Textured Images to Improve Pilot Situation Awareness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uenking, Michael D.; Hughes, Monica F.

    2002-01-01

    The General Aviation Element of the Aviation Safety Program's Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) Project is developing technology to eliminate low visibility induced General Aviation (GA) accidents. SVS displays present computer generated 3-dimensional imagery of the surrounding terrain on the Primary Flight Display (PFD) to greatly enhance pilot's situation awareness (SA), reducing or eliminating Controlled Flight into Terrain, as well as Low-Visibility Loss of Control accidents. SVS-conducted research is facilitating development of display concepts that provide the pilot with an unobstructed view of the outside terrain, regardless of weather conditions and time of day. A critical component of SVS displays is the appropriate presentation of terrain to the pilot. An experimental study is being conducted at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) to explore and quantify the relationship between the realism of the terrain presentation and resulting enhancements of pilot SA and performance. Composed of complementary simulation and flight test efforts, Terrain Portrayal for Head-Down Displays (TP-HDD) experiments will help researchers evaluate critical terrain portrayal concepts. The experimental effort is to provide data to enable design trades that optimize SVS applications, as well as develop requirements and recommendations to facilitate the certification process. In this part of the experiment a fixed based flight simulator was equipped with various types of Head Down flight displays, ranging from conventional round dials (typical of most GA aircraft) to glass cockpit style PFD's. The variations of the PFD included an assortment of texturing and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) resolution combinations. A test matrix of 10 terrain display configurations (in addition to the baseline displays) were evaluated by 27 pilots of various backgrounds and experience levels. Qualitative (questionnaires) and quantitative (pilot performance and physiological) data were collected during

  10. 3D vision system for intelligent milking robot automation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akhloufi, M. A.

    2013-12-01

    In a milking robot, the correct localization and positioning of milking teat cups is of very high importance. The milking robots technology has not changed since a decade and is based primarily on laser profiles for teats approximate positions estimation. This technology has reached its limit and does not allow optimal positioning of the milking cups. Also, in the presence of occlusions, the milking robot fails to milk the cow. These problems, have economic consequences for producers and animal health (e.g. development of mastitis). To overcome the limitations of current robots, we have developed a new system based on 3D vision, capable of efficiently positioning the milking cups. A prototype of an intelligent robot system based on 3D vision for real-time positioning of a milking robot has been built and tested under various conditions on a synthetic udder model (in static and moving scenarios). Experimental tests, were performed using 3D Time-Of-Flight (TOF) and RGBD cameras. The proposed algorithms permit the online segmentation of teats by combing 2D and 3D visual information. The obtained results permit the teat 3D position computation. This information is then sent to the milking robot for teat cups positioning. The vision system has a real-time performance and monitors the optimal positioning of the cups even in the presence of motion. The obtained results, with both TOF and RGBD cameras, show the good performance of the proposed system. The best performance was obtained with RGBD cameras. This latter technology will be used in future real life experimental tests.

  11. Evolvable synthetic neural system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtis, Steven A. (Inventor)

    2009-01-01

    An evolvable synthetic neural system includes an evolvable neural interface operably coupled to at least one neural basis function. Each neural basis function includes an evolvable neural interface operably coupled to a heuristic neural system to perform high-level functions and an autonomic neural system to perform low-level functions. In some embodiments, the evolvable synthetic neural system is operably coupled to one or more evolvable synthetic neural systems in a hierarchy.

  12. Pose Self-Calibration of Stereo Vision Systems for Autonomous Vehicle Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Basam Musleh

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, intelligent systems applied to vehicles have grown very rapidly; their goal is not only the improvement of safety, but also making autonomous driving possible. Many of these intelligent systems are based on making use of computer vision in order to know the environment and act accordingly. It is of great importance to be able to estimate the pose of the vision system because the measurement matching between the perception system (pixels and the vehicle environment (meters depends on the relative position between the perception system and the environment. A new method of camera pose estimation for stereo systems is presented in this paper, whose main contribution regarding the state of the art on the subject is the estimation of the pitch angle without being affected by the roll angle. The validation of the self-calibration method is accomplished by comparing it with relevant methods of camera pose estimation, where a synthetic sequence is used in order to measure the continuous error with a ground truth. This validation is enriched by the experimental results of the method in real traffic environments.

  13. Vision based systems for UAV applications

    CERN Document Server

    Kuś, Zygmunt

    2013-01-01

    This monograph is motivated by a significant number of vision based algorithms for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) that were developed during research and development projects. Vision information is utilized in various applications like visual surveillance, aim systems, recognition systems, collision-avoidance systems and navigation. This book presents practical applications, examples and recent challenges in these mentioned application fields. The aim of the book is to create a valuable source of information for researchers and constructors of solutions utilizing vision from UAV. Scientists, researchers and graduate students involved in computer vision, image processing, data fusion, control algorithms, mechanics, data mining, navigation and IC can find many valuable, useful and practical suggestions and solutions. The latest challenges for vision based systems are also presented.

  14. [Quality system Vision 2000].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasini, Evasio; Pitocchi, Oreste; de Luca, Italo; Ferrari, Roberto

    2002-12-01

    A recent document of the Italian Ministry of Health points out that all structures which provide services to the National Health System should implement a Quality System according to the ISO 9000 standards. Vision 2000 is the new version of the ISO standard. Vision 2000 is less bureaucratic than the old version. The specific requests of the Vision 2000 are: a) to identify, to monitor and to analyze the processes of the structure, b) to measure the results of the processes so as to ensure that they are effective, d) to implement actions necessary to achieve the planned results and the continual improvement of these processes, e) to identify customer requests and to measure customer satisfaction. Specific attention should be also dedicated to the competence and training of the personnel involved in the processes. The principles of the Vision 2000 agree with the principles of total quality management. The present article illustrates the Vision 2000 standard and provides practical examples of the implementation of this standard in cardiological departments.

  15. Basic design principles of colorimetric vision systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mumzhiu, Alex M.

    1998-10-01

    Color measurement is an important part of overall production quality control in textile, coating, plastics, food, paper and other industries. The color measurement instruments such as colorimeters and spectrophotometers, used for production quality control have many limitations. In many applications they cannot be used for a variety of reasons and have to be replaced with human operators. Machine vision has great potential for color measurement. The components for color machine vision systems, such as broadcast quality 3-CCD cameras, fast and inexpensive PCI frame grabbers, and sophisticated image processing software packages are available. However the machine vision industry has only started to approach the color domain. The few color machine vision systems on the market, produced by the largest machine vision manufacturers have very limited capabilities. A lack of understanding that a vision based color measurement system could fail if it ignores the basic principles of colorimetry is the main reason for the slow progress of color vision systems. the purpose of this paper is to clarify how color measurement principles have to be applied to vision systems and how the electro-optical design features of colorimeters have to be modified in order to implement them for vision systems. The subject of this presentation far exceeds the limitations of a journal paper so only the most important aspects will be discussed. An overview of the major areas of applications for colorimetric vision system will be discussed. Finally, the reasons why some customers are happy with their vision systems and some are not will be analyzed.

  16. Hi-Vision telecine system using pickup tube

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iijima, Goro

    1992-08-01

    Hi-Vision broadcasting, offering far more lifelike pictures than those produced by existing television broadcasting systems, has enormous potential in both industrial and commercial fields. The dissemination of the Hi-Vision system will enable vivid, movie theater quality pictures to be readily enjoyed in homes in the near future. To convert motion film pictures into Hi-Vision signals, a telecine system is needed. The Hi-Vision telecine systems currently under development are the "laser telecine," "flying-spot telecine," and "Saticon telecine" systems. This paper provides an overview of the pickup tube type Hi-Vision telecine system (referred to herein as the Saticon telecine system) developed and marketed by Ikegami Tsushinki Co., Ltd.

  17. Two sides of the same coin? The (techno)epistemic cultures of systems and synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kastenhofer, Karen

    2013-06-01

    Systems and synthetic biology both emerged around the turn of this century as labels for new research approaches. Although their disciplinary status as well as their relation to each other is rarely discussed in depth, now and again the idea is invoked that both approaches represent 'two sides of the same coin'. The following paper focuses on this general notion and compares it with empirical findings concerning the epistemic cultures prevalent in the two contexts. Drawing on interviews with researchers from both fields, on participatory observation in conferences and courses and on documentary analysis, this paper delineates differences and similarities, incompatibilities and blurred boundaries. By reconstructing systems and synthetic biology's epistemic cultures, this paper argues that they represent two 'communities of vision', encompassing heterogeneous practices. Understanding the relation of the respective visions of understanding nature and engineering life is seen as indispensible for the characterisation of (techno)science in more general terms. Depending on the conceptualisation of understanding and construction (or: science and engineering), related practices such as in silico modelling for enhancing understanding or enabling engineering can either be seen as incommensurable or 'two sides of one coin'. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Real-time vision systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, R.; Hernandez, J.E.; Lu, Shin-yee [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)

    1994-11-15

    Many industrial and defence applications require an ability to make instantaneous decisions based on sensor input of a time varying process. Such systems are referred to as `real-time systems` because they process and act on data as it occurs in time. When a vision sensor is used in a real-time system, the processing demands can be quite substantial, with typical data rates of 10-20 million samples per second. A real-time Machine Vision Laboratory (MVL) was established in FY94 to extend our years of experience in developing computer vision algorithms to include the development and implementation of real-time vision systems. The laboratory is equipped with a variety of hardware components, including Datacube image acquisition and processing boards, a Sun workstation, and several different types of CCD cameras, including monochrome and color area cameras and analog and digital line-scan cameras. The equipment is reconfigurable for prototyping different applications. This facility has been used to support several programs at LLNL, including O Division`s Peacemaker and Deadeye Projects as well as the CRADA with the U.S. Textile Industry, CAFE (Computer Aided Fabric Inspection). To date, we have successfully demonstrated several real-time applications: bullet tracking, stereo tracking and ranging, and web inspection. This work has been documented in the ongoing development of a real-time software library.

  19. Low Vision Enhancement System

    Science.gov (United States)

    1995-01-01

    NASA's Technology Transfer Office at Stennis Space Center worked with the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute in Baltimore, Md., to incorporate NASA software originally developed by NASA to process satellite images into the Low Vision Enhancement System (LVES). The LVES, referred to as 'ELVIS' by its users, is a portable image processing system that could make it possible to improve a person's vision by enhancing and altering images to compensate for impaired eyesight. The system consists of two orientation cameras, a zoom camera, and a video projection system. The headset and hand-held control weigh about two pounds each. Pictured is Jacob Webb, the first Mississippian to use the LVES.

  20. Virtual Vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terzopoulos, Demetri; Qureshi, Faisal Z.

    Computer vision and sensor networks researchers are increasingly motivated to investigate complex multi-camera sensing and control issues that arise in the automatic visual surveillance of extensive, highly populated public spaces such as airports and train stations. However, they often encounter serious impediments to deploying and experimenting with large-scale physical camera networks in such real-world environments. We propose an alternative approach called "Virtual Vision", which facilitates this type of research through the virtual reality simulation of populated urban spaces, camera sensor networks, and computer vision on commodity computers. We demonstrate the usefulness of our approach by developing two highly automated surveillance systems comprising passive and active pan/tilt/zoom cameras that are deployed in a virtual train station environment populated by autonomous, lifelike virtual pedestrians. The easily reconfigurable virtual cameras distributed in this environment generate synthetic video feeds that emulate those acquired by real surveillance cameras monitoring public spaces. The novel multi-camera control strategies that we describe enable the cameras to collaborate in persistently observing pedestrians of interest and in acquiring close-up videos of pedestrians in designated areas.

  1. Design of interpolation functions for subpixel-accuracy stereo-vision systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haller, Istvan; Nedevschi, Sergiu

    2012-02-01

    Traditionally, subpixel interpolation in stereo-vision systems was designed for the block-matching algorithm. During the evaluation of different interpolation strategies, a strong correlation was observed between the type of the stereo algorithm and the subpixel accuracy of the different solutions. Subpixel interpolation should be adapted to each stereo algorithm to achieve maximum accuracy. In consequence, it is more important to propose methodologies for interpolation function generation than specific function shapes. We propose two such methodologies based on data generated by the stereo algorithms. The first proposal uses a histogram to model the environment and applies histogram equalization to an existing solution adapting it to the data. The second proposal employs synthetic images of a known environment and applies function fitting to the resulted data. The resulting function matches the algorithm and the data as best as possible. An extensive evaluation set is used to validate the findings. Both real and synthetic test cases were employed in different scenarios. The test results are consistent and show significant improvements compared with traditional solutions. © 2011 IEEE

  2. Rewiring cells: synthetic biology as a tool to interrogate the organizational principles of living systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bashor, Caleb J; Horwitz, Andrew A; Peisajovich, Sergio G; Lim, Wendell A

    2010-01-01

    The living cell is an incredibly complex entity, and the goal of predictively and quantitatively understanding its function is one of the next great challenges in biology. Much of what we know about the cell concerns its constituent parts, but to a great extent we have yet to decode how these parts are organized to yield complex physiological function. Classically, we have learned about the organization of cellular networks by disrupting them through genetic or chemical means. The emerging discipline of synthetic biology offers an additional, powerful approach to study systems. By rearranging the parts that comprise existing networks, we can gain valuable insight into the hierarchical logic of the networks and identify the modular building blocks that evolution uses to generate innovative function. In addition, by building minimal toy networks, one can systematically explore the relationship between network structure and function. Here, we outline recent work that uses synthetic biology approaches to investigate the organization and function of cellular networks, and describe a vision for a synthetic biology toolkit that could be used to interrogate the design principles of diverse systems.

  3. An Event-Driven Classifier for Spiking Neural Networks Fed with Synthetic or Dynamic Vision Sensor Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evangelos Stromatias

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper introduces a novel methodology for training an event-driven classifier within a Spiking Neural Network (SNN System capable of yielding good classification results when using both synthetic input data and real data captured from Dynamic Vision Sensor (DVS chips. The proposed supervised method uses the spiking activity provided by an arbitrary topology of prior SNN layers to build histograms and train the classifier in the frame domain using the stochastic gradient descent algorithm. In addition, this approach can cope with leaky integrate-and-fire neuron models within the SNN, a desirable feature for real-world SNN applications, where neural activation must fade away after some time in the absence of inputs. Consequently, this way of building histograms captures the dynamics of spikes immediately before the classifier. We tested our method on the MNIST data set using different synthetic encodings and real DVS sensory data sets such as N-MNIST, MNIST-DVS, and Poker-DVS using the same network topology and feature maps. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by achieving the highest classification accuracy reported on the N-MNIST (97.77% and Poker-DVS (100% real DVS data sets to date with a spiking convolutional network. Moreover, by using the proposed method we were able to retrain the output layer of a previously reported spiking neural network and increase its performance by 2%, suggesting that the proposed classifier can be used as the output layer in works where features are extracted using unsupervised spike-based learning methods. In addition, we also analyze SNN performance figures such as total event activity and network latencies, which are relevant for eventual hardware implementations. In summary, the paper aggregates unsupervised-trained SNNs with a supervised-trained SNN classifier, combining and applying them to heterogeneous sets of benchmarks, both synthetic and from real DVS chips.

  4. An Event-Driven Classifier for Spiking Neural Networks Fed with Synthetic or Dynamic Vision Sensor Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stromatias, Evangelos; Soto, Miguel; Serrano-Gotarredona, Teresa; Linares-Barranco, Bernabé

    2017-01-01

    This paper introduces a novel methodology for training an event-driven classifier within a Spiking Neural Network (SNN) System capable of yielding good classification results when using both synthetic input data and real data captured from Dynamic Vision Sensor (DVS) chips. The proposed supervised method uses the spiking activity provided by an arbitrary topology of prior SNN layers to build histograms and train the classifier in the frame domain using the stochastic gradient descent algorithm. In addition, this approach can cope with leaky integrate-and-fire neuron models within the SNN, a desirable feature for real-world SNN applications, where neural activation must fade away after some time in the absence of inputs. Consequently, this way of building histograms captures the dynamics of spikes immediately before the classifier. We tested our method on the MNIST data set using different synthetic encodings and real DVS sensory data sets such as N-MNIST, MNIST-DVS, and Poker-DVS using the same network topology and feature maps. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by achieving the highest classification accuracy reported on the N-MNIST (97.77%) and Poker-DVS (100%) real DVS data sets to date with a spiking convolutional network. Moreover, by using the proposed method we were able to retrain the output layer of a previously reported spiking neural network and increase its performance by 2%, suggesting that the proposed classifier can be used as the output layer in works where features are extracted using unsupervised spike-based learning methods. In addition, we also analyze SNN performance figures such as total event activity and network latencies, which are relevant for eventual hardware implementations. In summary, the paper aggregates unsupervised-trained SNNs with a supervised-trained SNN classifier, combining and applying them to heterogeneous sets of benchmarks, both synthetic and from real DVS chips.

  5. Vision Systems with the Human in the Loop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauckhage, Christian; Hanheide, Marc; Wrede, Sebastian; Käster, Thomas; Pfeiffer, Michael; Sagerer, Gerhard

    2005-12-01

    The emerging cognitive vision paradigm deals with vision systems that apply machine learning and automatic reasoning in order to learn from what they perceive. Cognitive vision systems can rate the relevance and consistency of newly acquired knowledge, they can adapt to their environment and thus will exhibit high robustness. This contribution presents vision systems that aim at flexibility and robustness. One is tailored for content-based image retrieval, the others are cognitive vision systems that constitute prototypes of visual active memories which evaluate, gather, and integrate contextual knowledge for visual analysis. All three systems are designed to interact with human users. After we will have discussed adaptive content-based image retrieval and object and action recognition in an office environment, the issue of assessing cognitive systems will be raised. Experiences from psychologically evaluated human-machine interactions will be reported and the promising potential of psychologically-based usability experiments will be stressed.

  6. Remote-controlled vision-guided mobile robot system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ande, Raymond; Samu, Tayib; Hall, Ernest L.

    1997-09-01

    Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) have many potential applications in manufacturing, medicine, space and defense. The purpose of this paper is to describe exploratory research on the design of the remote controlled emergency stop and vision systems for an autonomous mobile robot. The remote control provides human supervision and emergency stop capabilities for the autonomous vehicle. The vision guidance provides automatic operation. A mobile robot test-bed has been constructed using a golf cart base. The mobile robot (Bearcat) was built for the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems (AUVS) 1997 competition. The mobile robot has full speed control with guidance provided by a vision system and an obstacle avoidance system using ultrasonic sensors systems. Vision guidance is accomplished using two CCD cameras with zoom lenses. The vision data is processed by a high speed tracking device, communicating with the computer the X, Y coordinates of blobs along the lane markers. The system also has three emergency stop switches and a remote controlled emergency stop switch that can disable the traction motor and set the brake. Testing of these systems has been done in the lab as well as on an outside test track with positive results that show that at five mph the vehicle can follow a line and at the same time avoid obstacles.

  7. Synthetic biology, inspired by synthetic chemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malinova, V; Nallani, M; Meier, W P; Sinner, E K

    2012-07-16

    The topic synthetic biology appears still as an 'empty basket to be filled'. However, there is already plenty of claims and visions, as well as convincing research strategies about the theme of synthetic biology. First of all, synthetic biology seems to be about the engineering of biology - about bottom-up and top-down approaches, compromising complexity versus stability of artificial architectures, relevant in biology. Synthetic biology accounts for heterogeneous approaches towards minimal and even artificial life, the engineering of biochemical pathways on the organismic level, the modelling of molecular processes and finally, the combination of synthetic with nature-derived materials and architectural concepts, such as a cellular membrane. Still, synthetic biology is a discipline, which embraces interdisciplinary attempts in order to have a profound, scientific base to enable the re-design of nature and to compose architectures and processes with man-made matter. We like to give an overview about the developments in the field of synthetic biology, regarding polymer-based analogs of cellular membranes and what questions can be answered by applying synthetic polymer science towards the smallest unit in life, namely a cell. Copyright © 2012 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Vision Systems with the Human in the Loop

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bauckhage Christian

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The emerging cognitive vision paradigm deals with vision systems that apply machine learning and automatic reasoning in order to learn from what they perceive. Cognitive vision systems can rate the relevance and consistency of newly acquired knowledge, they can adapt to their environment and thus will exhibit high robustness. This contribution presents vision systems that aim at flexibility and robustness. One is tailored for content-based image retrieval, the others are cognitive vision systems that constitute prototypes of visual active memories which evaluate, gather, and integrate contextual knowledge for visual analysis. All three systems are designed to interact with human users. After we will have discussed adaptive content-based image retrieval and object and action recognition in an office environment, the issue of assessing cognitive systems will be raised. Experiences from psychologically evaluated human-machine interactions will be reported and the promising potential of psychologically-based usability experiments will be stressed.

  9. AN INVESTIGATION OF VISION PROBLEMS AND THE VISION CARE SYSTEM IN RURAL CHINA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Yunli; Yi, Hongmei; Zhang, Linxiu; Shi, Yaojiang; Ma, Xiaochen; Congdon, Nathan; Zhou, Zhongqiang; Boswell, Matthew; Rozelle, Scott

    2014-11-01

    This paper examines the prevalence of vision problems and the accessibility to and quality of vision care in rural China. We obtained data from 4 sources: 1) the National Rural Vision Care Survey; 2) the Private Optometrists Survey; 3) the County Hospital Eye Care Survey; and 4) the Rural School Vision Care Survey. The data from each of the surveys were collected by the authors during 2012. Thirty-three percent of the rural population surveyed self-reported vision problems. Twenty-two percent of subjects surveyed had ever had a vision exam. Among those who self-reported having vision problems, 34% did not wear eyeglasses. Fifty-four percent of those with vision problems who had eyeglasses did not have a vision exam prior to receiving glasses. However, having a vision exam did not always guarantee access to quality vision care. Four channels of vision care service were assessed. The school vision examination program did not increase the usage rate of eyeglasses. Each county-hospital was staffed with three eye-doctors having one year of education beyond high school, serving more than 400,000 residents. Private optometrists often had low levels of education and professional certification. In conclusion, our findings shows that the vision care system in rural China is inadequate and ineffective in meeting the needs of the rural population sampled.

  10. Embedded Active Vision System Based on an FPGA Architecture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chalimbaud Pierre

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available In computer vision and more particularly in vision processing, the impressive evolution of algorithms and the emergence of new techniques dramatically increase algorithm complexity. In this paper, a novel FPGA-based architecture dedicated to active vision (and more precisely early vision is proposed. Active vision appears as an alternative approach to deal with artificial vision problems. The central idea is to take into account the perceptual aspects of visual tasks, inspired by biological vision systems. For this reason, we propose an original approach based on a system on programmable chip implemented in an FPGA connected to a CMOS imager and an inertial set. With such a structure based on reprogrammable devices, this system admits a high degree of versatility and allows the implementation of parallel image processing algorithms.

  11. Embedded Active Vision System Based on an FPGA Architecture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pierre Chalimbaud

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available In computer vision and more particularly in vision processing, the impressive evolution of algorithms and the emergence of new techniques dramatically increase algorithm complexity. In this paper, a novel FPGA-based architecture dedicated to active vision (and more precisely early vision is proposed. Active vision appears as an alternative approach to deal with artificial vision problems. The central idea is to take into account the perceptual aspects of visual tasks, inspired by biological vision systems. For this reason, we propose an original approach based on a system on programmable chip implemented in an FPGA connected to a CMOS imager and an inertial set. With such a structure based on reprogrammable devices, this system admits a high degree of versatility and allows the implementation of parallel image processing algorithms.

  12. Reconfigurable vision system for real-time applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres-Huitzil, Cesar; Arias-Estrada, Miguel

    2002-03-01

    Recently, a growing community of researchers has used reconfigurable systems to solve computationally intensive problems. Reconfigurability provides optimized processors for systems on chip designs, and makes easy to import technology to a new system through reusable modules. The main objective of this work is the investigation of a reconfigurable computer system targeted for computer vision and real-time applications. The system is intended to circumvent the inherent computational load of most window-based computer vision algorithms. It aims to build a system for such tasks by providing an FPGA-based hardware architecture for task specific vision applications with enough processing power, using the minimum amount of hardware resources as possible, and a mechanism for building systems using this architecture. Regarding the software part of the system, a library of pre-designed and general-purpose modules that implement common window-based computer vision operations is being investigated. A common generic interface is established for these modules in order to define hardware/software components. These components can be interconnected to develop more complex applications, providing an efficient mechanism for transferring image and result data among modules. Some preliminary results are presented and discussed.

  13. Vision systems for scientific and engineering applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chadda, V.K.

    2009-01-01

    Human performance can get degraded due to boredom, distraction and fatigue in vision-related tasks such as measurement, counting etc. Vision based techniques are increasingly being employed in many scientific and engineering applications. Notable advances in this field are emerging from continuing improvements in the fields of sensors and related technologies, and advances in computer hardware and software. Automation utilizing vision-based systems can perform repetitive tasks faster and more accurately, with greater consistency over time than humans. Electronics and Instrumentation Services Division has developed vision-based systems for several applications to perform tasks such as precision alignment, biometric access control, measurement, counting etc. This paper describes in brief four such applications. (author)

  14. Vision system for dial gage torque wrench calibration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aggarwal, Neelam; Doiron, Theodore D.; Sanghera, Paramjeet S.

    1993-11-01

    In this paper, we present the development of a fast and robust vision system which, in conjunction with the Dial Gage Calibration system developed by AKO Inc., will be used by the U.S. Army in calibrating dial gage torque wrenches. The vision system detects the change in the angular position of the dial pointer in a dial gage. The angular change is proportional to the applied torque. The input to the system is a sequence of images of the torque wrench dial gage taken at different dial pointer positions. The system then reports the angular difference between the different positions. The primary components of this vision system include modules for image acquisition, linear feature extraction and angle measurements. For each of these modules, several techniques were evaluated and the most applicable one was selected. This system has numerous other applications like vision systems to read and calibrate analog instruments.

  15. Philosophy of Systems and Synthetic Biology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Green, Sara

    2017-01-01

    This entry aims to clarify how systems and synthetic biology contribute to and extend discussions within philosophy of science. Unlike fields such as developmental biology or molecular biology, systems and synthetic biology are not easily demarcated by a focus on a specific subject area or level...... of organization. Rather, they are characterized by the development and application of mathematical, computational, and synthetic modeling strategies in response to complex problems and challenges within the life sciences. Proponents of systems and synthetic biology often stress the necessity of a perspective...... that goes beyond the scope of molecular biology and genetic engineering, respectively. With the emphasis on systems and interaction networks, the approaches explicitly engage in one of the oldest philosophical discussions on the relationship between parts and wholes, or between reductionism and holism...

  16. Autonomous navigation of the vehicle with vision system. Vision system wo motsu sharyo no jiritsu soko seigyo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yatabe, T.; Hirose, T.; Tsugawa, S. (Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, Tsukuba (Japan))

    1991-11-10

    As part of the automatic driving system researches, a pilot driverless automobile was built and discussed, which is equipped with obstacle detection and automatic navigating functions without depending on ground facilities including guiding cables. A small car was mounted with a vision system to recognize obstacles three-dimensionally by means of two TV cameras, and a dead reckoning system to calculate the car position and direction from speeds of the rear wheels on a real time basis. The control algorithm, which recognizes obstacles and road range on the vision and drives the car automatically, uses a table-look-up method that retrieves a table stored with the necessary driving amount based on data from the vision system. The steering uses the target point following method algorithm provided that the has a map. As a result of driving tests, useful knowledges were obtained that the system meets the basic functions, but needs a few improvements because of it being an open loop. 36 refs., 22 figs., 2 tabs.

  17. Health system vision of iran in 2025.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rostamigooran, N; Esmailzadeh, H; Rajabi, F; Majdzadeh, R; Larijani, B; Dastgerdi, M Vahid

    2013-01-01

    Vast changes in disease features and risk factors and influence of demographic, economical, and social trends on health system, makes formulating a long term evolutionary plan, unavoidable. In this regard, to determine health system vision in a long term horizon is a primary stage. After narrative and purposeful review of documentaries, major themes of vision statement were determined and its context was organized in a work group consist of selected managers and experts of health system. Final content of the statement was prepared after several sessions of group discussions and receiving ideas of policy makers and experts of health system. Vision statement in evolutionary plan of health system is considered to be :"a progressive community in the course of human prosperity which has attained to a developed level of health standards in the light of the most efficient and equitable health system in visionary region(1) and with the regarding to health in all policies, accountability and innovation". An explanatory context was compiled either to create a complete image of the vision. Social values and leaders' strategic goals, and also main orientations are generally mentioned in vision statement. In this statement prosperity and justice are considered as major values and ideals in society of Iran; development and excellence in the region as leaders' strategic goals; and also considering efficiency and equality, health in all policies, and accountability and innovation as main orientations of health system.

  18. Vision enhanced navigation for unmanned systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wampler, Brandon Loy

    A vision based simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithm is evaluated for use on unmanned systems. SLAM is a technique used by a vehicle to build a map of an environment while concurrently keeping track of its location within the map, without a priori knowledge. The work in this thesis is focused on using SLAM as a navigation solution when global positioning system (GPS) service is degraded or temporarily unavailable. Previous work on unmanned systems that lead up to the determination that a better navigation solution than GPS alone is first presented. This previous work includes control of unmanned systems, simulation, and unmanned vehicle hardware testing. The proposed SLAM algorithm follows the work originally developed by Davidson et al. in which they dub their algorithm MonoSLAM [1--4]. A new approach using the Pyramidal Lucas-Kanade feature tracking algorithm from Intel's OpenCV (open computer vision) library is presented as a means of keeping correct landmark correspondences as the vehicle moves through the scene. Though this landmark tracking method is unusable for long term SLAM due to its inability to recognize revisited landmarks, as opposed to the Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) and Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF), its computational efficiency makes it a good candidate for short term navigation between GPS position updates. Additional sensor information is then considered by fusing INS and GPS information into the SLAM filter. The SLAM system, in its vision only and vision/IMU form, is tested on a table top, in an open room, and finally in an outdoor environment. For the outdoor environment, a form of the slam algorithm that fuses vision, IMU, and GPS information is tested. The proposed SLAM algorithm, and its several forms, are implemented in C++ using an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF). Experiments utilizing a live video feed from a webcam are performed. The different forms of the filter are compared and conclusions are made on

  19. Vision/INS Integrated Navigation System for Poor Vision Navigation Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Youngsun Kim

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available In order to improve the performance of an inertial navigation system, many aiding sensors can be used. Among these aiding sensors, a vision sensor is of particular note due to its benefits in terms of weight, cost, and power consumption. This paper proposes an inertial and vision integrated navigation method for poor vision navigation environments. The proposed method uses focal plane measurements of landmarks in order to provide position, velocity and attitude outputs even when the number of landmarks on the focal plane is not enough for navigation. In order to verify the proposed method, computer simulations and van tests are carried out. The results show that the proposed method gives accurate and reliable position, velocity and attitude outputs when the number of landmarks is insufficient.

  20. Coherent laser vision system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sebastion, R.L.

    1995-01-01

    The Coherent Laser Vision System (CLVS) is being developed to provide precision real-time 3D world views to support site characterization and robotic operations and during facilities Decontamination and Decommissioning. Autonomous or semiautonomous robotic operations requires an accurate, up-to-date 3D world view. Existing technologies for real-time 3D imaging, such as AM laser radar, have limited accuracy at significant ranges and have variability in range estimates caused by lighting or surface shading. Recent advances in fiber optic component technology and digital processing components have enabled the development of a new 3D vision system based upon a fiber optic FMCW coherent laser radar. The approach includes a compact scanner with no-moving parts capable of randomly addressing all pixels. The system maintains the immunity to lighting and surface shading conditions which is characteristic to coherent laser radar. The random pixel addressability allows concentration of scanning and processing on the active areas of a scene, as is done by the human eye-brain system

  1. Coherent laser vision system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sebastion, R.L. [Coleman Research Corp., Springfield, VA (United States)

    1995-10-01

    The Coherent Laser Vision System (CLVS) is being developed to provide precision real-time 3D world views to support site characterization and robotic operations and during facilities Decontamination and Decommissioning. Autonomous or semiautonomous robotic operations requires an accurate, up-to-date 3D world view. Existing technologies for real-time 3D imaging, such as AM laser radar, have limited accuracy at significant ranges and have variability in range estimates caused by lighting or surface shading. Recent advances in fiber optic component technology and digital processing components have enabled the development of a new 3D vision system based upon a fiber optic FMCW coherent laser radar. The approach includes a compact scanner with no-moving parts capable of randomly addressing all pixels. The system maintains the immunity to lighting and surface shading conditions which is characteristic to coherent laser radar. The random pixel addressability allows concentration of scanning and processing on the active areas of a scene, as is done by the human eye-brain system.

  2. Synthetic Vision Systems in GA Cockpit-Evaluation of Basic Maneuvers Performed by Low Time GA Pilots During Transition from VMC to IMC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takallu, M. A.; Wong, D. T.; Uenking, M. D.

    2002-01-01

    An experimental investigation was conducted to study the effectiveness of modern flight displays in general aviation cockpits for mitigating Low Visibility Loss of Control and the Controlled Flight Into Terrain accidents. A total of 18 General Aviation (GA) pilots with private pilot, single engine land rating, with no additional instrument training beyond private pilot license requirements, were recruited to evaluate three different display concepts in a fixed-based flight simulator at the NASA Langley Research Center's General Aviation Work Station. Evaluation pilots were asked to continue flight from Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) into Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) while performing a series of 4 basic precision maneuvers. During the experiment, relevant pilot/vehicle performance variables, pilot control inputs and physiological data were recorded. Human factors questionnaires and interviews were administered after each scenario. Qualitative and quantitative data have been analyzed and the results are presented here. Pilot performance deviations from the established target values (errors) were computed and compared with the FAA Practical Test Standards. Results of the quantitative data indicate that evaluation pilots committed substantially fewer errors when using the Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) displays than when they were using conventional instruments. Results of the qualitative data indicate that evaluation pilots perceived themselves to have a much higher level of situation awareness while using the SVS display concept.

  3. Geo synthetic-reinforced Pavement systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zornberg, J. G.

    2014-01-01

    Geo synthetics have been used as reinforcement inclusions to improve pavement performance. while there are clear field evidence of the benefit of using geo synthetic reinforcements, the specific conditions or mechanisms that govern the reinforcement of pavements are, at best, unclear and have remained largely unmeasured. Significant research has been recently conducted with the objectives of: (i) determining the relevant properties of geo synthetics that contribute to the enhanced performance of pavement systems, (ii) developing appropriate analytical, laboratory and field methods capable of quantifying the pavement performance, and (iii) enabling the prediction of pavement performance as a function of the properties of the various types of geo synthetics. (Author)

  4. Latency in Visionic Systems: Test Methods and Requirements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bailey, Randall E.; Arthur, J. J., III; Williams, Steven P.; Kramer, Lynda J.

    2005-01-01

    A visionics device creates a pictorial representation of the external scene for the pilot. The ultimate objective of these systems may be to electronically generate a form of Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) to eliminate weather or time-of-day as an operational constraint and provide enhancement over actual visual conditions where eye-limiting resolution may be a limiting factor. Empirical evidence has shown that the total system delays or latencies including the imaging sensors and display systems, can critically degrade their utility, usability, and acceptability. Definitions and measurement techniques are offered herein as common test and evaluation methods for latency testing in visionics device applications. Based upon available data, very different latency requirements are indicated based upon the piloting task, the role in which the visionics device is used in this task, and the characteristics of the visionics cockpit display device including its resolution, field-of-regard, and field-of-view. The least stringent latency requirements will involve Head-Up Display (HUD) applications, where the visionics imagery provides situational information as a supplement to symbology guidance and command information. Conversely, the visionics system latency requirement for a large field-of-view Head-Worn Display application, providing a Virtual-VMC capability from which the pilot will derive visual guidance, will be the most stringent, having a value as low as 20 msec.

  5. Parallel Architectures and Parallel Algorithms for Integrated Vision Systems. Ph.D. Thesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choudhary, Alok Nidhi

    1989-01-01

    Computer vision is regarded as one of the most complex and computationally intensive problems. An integrated vision system (IVS) is a system that uses vision algorithms from all levels of processing to perform for a high level application (e.g., object recognition). An IVS normally involves algorithms from low level, intermediate level, and high level vision. Designing parallel architectures for vision systems is of tremendous interest to researchers. Several issues are addressed in parallel architectures and parallel algorithms for integrated vision systems.

  6. Exploration of a Vision for Actor Database Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Shah, Vivek

    of these services. Existing popular approaches to building these services either use an in-memory database system or an actor runtime. We observe that these approaches have complementary strengths and weaknesses. In this dissertation, we propose the integration of actor programming models in database systems....... In doing so, we lay down a vision for a new class of systems called actor database systems. To explore this vision, this dissertation crystallizes the notion of an actor database system by defining its feature set in light of current application and hardware trends. In order to explore the viability...... of the outlined vision, a new programming model named Reactors has been designed to enrich classic relational database programming models with logical actor programming constructs. To support the reactor programming model, a high-performance in-memory multi-core OLTP database system named REACTDB has been built...

  7. A Critical Perspective on Synthetic Biology

    OpenAIRE

    Michel Morange

    2009-01-01

    Synthetic biology emerged around 2000 as a new biological discipline. It shares with systems biology the same modular vision of organisms, but is more concerned with applications than with a better understanding of the functioning of organisms. A herald of this new discipline is Craig Venter who aims to create an artificial microorganism with the minimal genome compatible with life and to implement into it different 'functional modules' to generate new micro-organisms adapted to specific task...

  8. Detecting Faults in Southern California using Computer-Vision Techniques and Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) Interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barba, M.; Rains, C.; von Dassow, W.; Parker, J. W.; Glasscoe, M. T.

    2013-12-01

    Knowing the location and behavior of active faults is essential for earthquake hazard assessment and disaster response. In Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) images, faults are revealed as linear discontinuities. Currently, interferograms are manually inspected to locate faults. During the summer of 2013, the NASA-JPL DEVELOP California Disasters team contributed to the development of a method to expedite fault detection in California using remote-sensing technology. The team utilized InSAR images created from polarimetric L-band data from NASA's Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) project. A computer-vision technique known as 'edge-detection' was used to automate the fault-identification process. We tested and refined an edge-detection algorithm under development through NASA's Earthquake Data Enhanced Cyber-Infrastructure for Disaster Evaluation and Response (E-DECIDER) project. To optimize the algorithm we used both UAVSAR interferograms and synthetic interferograms generated through Disloc, a web-based modeling program available through NASA's QuakeSim project. The edge-detection algorithm detected seismic, aseismic, and co-seismic slip along faults that were identified and compared with databases of known fault systems. Our optimization process was the first step toward integration of the edge-detection code into E-DECIDER to provide decision support for earthquake preparation and disaster management. E-DECIDER partners that will use the edge-detection code include the California Earthquake Clearinghouse and the US Department of Homeland Security through delivery of products using the Unified Incident Command and Decision Support (UICDS) service. Through these partnerships, researchers, earthquake disaster response teams, and policy-makers will be able to use this new methodology to examine the details of ground and fault motions for moderate to large earthquakes. Following an earthquake, the newly discovered faults can

  9. Visual Peoplemeter: A Vision-based Television Audience Measurement System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SKELIN, A. K.

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Visual peoplemeter is a vision-based measurement system that objectively evaluates the attentive behavior for TV audience rating, thus offering solution to some of drawbacks of current manual logging peoplemeters. In this paper, some limitations of current audience measurement system are reviewed and a novel vision-based system aiming at passive metering of viewers is prototyped. The system uses camera mounted on a television as a sensing modality and applies advanced computer vision algorithms to detect and track a person, and to recognize attentional states. Feasibility of the system is evaluated on a secondary dataset. The results show that the proposed system can analyze viewer's attentive behavior, therefore enabling passive estimates of relevant audience measurement categories.

  10. Artificial vision support system (AVS(2)) for improved prosthetic vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fink, Wolfgang; Tarbell, Mark A

    2014-11-01

    State-of-the-art and upcoming camera-driven, implanted artificial vision systems provide only tens to hundreds of electrodes, affording only limited visual perception for blind subjects. Therefore, real time image processing is crucial to enhance and optimize this limited perception. Since tens or hundreds of pixels/electrodes allow only for a very crude approximation of the typically megapixel optical resolution of the external camera image feed, the preservation and enhancement of contrast differences and transitions, such as edges, are especially important compared to picture details such as object texture. An Artificial Vision Support System (AVS(2)) is devised that displays the captured video stream in a pixelation conforming to the dimension of the epi-retinal implant electrode array. AVS(2), using efficient image processing modules, modifies the captured video stream in real time, enhancing 'present but hidden' objects to overcome inadequacies or extremes in the camera imagery. As a result, visual prosthesis carriers may now be able to discern such objects in their 'field-of-view', thus enabling mobility in environments that would otherwise be too hazardous to navigate. The image processing modules can be engaged repeatedly in a user-defined order, which is a unique capability. AVS(2) is directly applicable to any artificial vision system that is based on an imaging modality (video, infrared, sound, ultrasound, microwave, radar, etc.) as the first step in the stimulation/processing cascade, such as: retinal implants (i.e. epi-retinal, sub-retinal, suprachoroidal), optic nerve implants, cortical implants, electric tongue stimulators, or tactile stimulators.

  11. Prospective Technology Assessment of Synthetic Biology: Fundamental and Propaedeutic Reflections in Order to Enable an Early Assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Jan Cornelius

    2016-08-01

    Synthetic biology is regarded as one of the key technosciences of the future. The goal of this paper is to present some fundamental considerations to enable procedures of a technology assessment (TA) of synthetic biology. To accomplish such an early "upstream" assessment of a not yet fully developed technology, a special type of TA will be considered: Prospective TA (ProTA). At the center of ProTA are the analysis and the framing of "synthetic biology," including a characterization and assessment of the technological core. The thesis is that if there is any differentia specifica giving substance to the umbrella term "synthetic biology," it is the idea of harnessing self-organization for engineering purposes. To underline that we are likely experiencing an epochal break in the ontology of technoscientific systems, this new type of technology is called "late-modern technology." -I start this paper by analyzing the three most common visions of synthetic biology. Then I argue that one particular vision deserves more attention because it underlies the others: the vision of self-organization. I discuss the inherent limits of this new type of late-modern technology in the attempt to control and monitor possible risk issues. I refer to Hans Jonas' ethics and his early anticipation of the risks of a novel type of technology. I end by drawing conclusions for the approach of ProTA towards an early societal shaping of synthetic biology.

  12. Vision based flight procedure stereo display system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Xiaoyun; Wan, Di; Ma, Lan; He, Yuncheng

    2008-03-01

    A virtual reality flight procedure vision system is introduced in this paper. The digital flight map database is established based on the Geographic Information System (GIS) and high definitions satellite remote sensing photos. The flight approaching area database is established through computer 3D modeling system and GIS. The area texture is generated from the remote sensing photos and aerial photographs in various level of detail. According to the flight approaching procedure, the flight navigation information is linked to the database. The flight approaching area vision can be dynamic displayed according to the designed flight procedure. The flight approaching area images are rendered in 2 channels, one for left eye images and the others for right eye images. Through the polarized stereoscopic projection system, the pilots and aircrew can get the vivid 3D vision of the flight destination approaching area. Take the use of this system in pilots preflight preparation procedure, the aircrew can get more vivid information along the flight destination approaching area. This system can improve the aviator's self-confidence before he carries out the flight mission, accordingly, the flight safety is improved. This system is also useful in validate the visual flight procedure design, and it helps to the flight procedure design.

  13. Robot vision system R and D for ITER blanket remote-handling system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maruyama, Takahito; Aburadani, Atsushi; Takeda, Nobukazu; Kakudate, Satoshi; Nakahira, Masataka; Tesini, Alessandro

    2014-01-01

    For regular maintenance of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a system called the ITER blanket remote-handling system is necessary to remotely handle the blanket modules because of the high levels of gamma radiation. Modules will be handled by robotic power manipulators and they must have a non-contact-sensing system for installing and grasping to avoid contact with other modules. A robot vision system that uses cameras was adopted for this non-contact-sensing system. Experiments for grasping modules were carried out in a dark room to simulate the environment inside the vacuum vessel and the robot vision system's measurement errors were studied. As a result, the accuracy of the manipulator's movements was within 2.01 mm and 0.31°, which satisfies the system requirements. Therefore, it was concluded that this robot vision system is suitable for the non-contact-sensing system of the ITER blanket remote-handling system

  14. Robot vision system R and D for ITER blanket remote-handling system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maruyama, Takahito, E-mail: maruyama.takahito@jaea.go.jp [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Fusion Research and Development Directorate, Naka, Ibaraki-ken 311-0193 (Japan); Aburadani, Atsushi; Takeda, Nobukazu; Kakudate, Satoshi; Nakahira, Masataka [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Fusion Research and Development Directorate, Naka, Ibaraki-ken 311-0193 (Japan); Tesini, Alessandro [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 St Paul Lez Durance (France)

    2014-10-15

    For regular maintenance of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a system called the ITER blanket remote-handling system is necessary to remotely handle the blanket modules because of the high levels of gamma radiation. Modules will be handled by robotic power manipulators and they must have a non-contact-sensing system for installing and grasping to avoid contact with other modules. A robot vision system that uses cameras was adopted for this non-contact-sensing system. Experiments for grasping modules were carried out in a dark room to simulate the environment inside the vacuum vessel and the robot vision system's measurement errors were studied. As a result, the accuracy of the manipulator's movements was within 2.01 mm and 0.31°, which satisfies the system requirements. Therefore, it was concluded that this robot vision system is suitable for the non-contact-sensing system of the ITER blanket remote-handling system.

  15. Dense range map reconstruction from a versatile robotic sensor system with an active trinocular vision and a passive binocular vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Min Young; Lee, Hyunkee; Cho, Hyungsuck

    2008-04-10

    One major research issue associated with 3D perception by robotic systems is the creation of efficient sensor systems that can generate dense range maps reliably. A visual sensor system for robotic applications is developed that is inherently equipped with two types of sensor, an active trinocular vision and a passive stereo vision. Unlike in conventional active vision systems that use a large number of images with variations of projected patterns for dense range map acquisition or from conventional passive vision systems that work well on specific environments with sufficient feature information, a cooperative bidirectional sensor fusion method for this visual sensor system enables us to acquire a reliable dense range map using active and passive information simultaneously. The fusion algorithms are composed of two parts, one in which the passive stereo vision helps active vision and the other in which the active trinocular vision helps the passive one. The first part matches the laser patterns in stereo laser images with the help of intensity images; the second part utilizes an information fusion technique using the dynamic programming method in which image regions between laser patterns are matched pixel-by-pixel with help of the fusion results obtained in the first part. To determine how the proposed sensor system and fusion algorithms can work in real applications, the sensor system is implemented on a robotic system, and the proposed algorithms are applied. A series of experimental tests is performed for a variety of configurations of robot and environments. The performance of the sensor system is discussed in detail.

  16. Real-time millimeter-wave imaging radiometer for avionic synthetic vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lovberg, John A.; Chou, Ri-Chee; Martin, Christopher A.

    1994-07-01

    ThermoTrex Corporation (TTC) has developed an imaging radiometer, the passive microwave camera (PMC), that uses an array of frequency-scanned antennas coupled to a multi-channel acousto-optic (Bragg cell) spectrum analyzer to form visible images of a scene through acquisition of thermal blackbody radiation in the millimeter-wave spectrum. The output of the Bragg cell is imaged by a standard video camera and passed to a computer for normalization and display at real-time frame rates. One application of this system could be its incorporation into an enhanced vision system to provide pilots with a clear view of the runway during fog and other adverse weather conditions. The unique PMC system architecture will allow compact large-aperture implementations because of its flat antenna sensor. Other potential applications include air traffic control, all-weather area surveillance, fire detection, and security. This paper describes the architecture of the TTC PMC and shows examples of images acquired with the system.

  17. A lightweight, inexpensive robotic system for insect vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabo, Chelsea; Chisholm, Robert; Petterson, Adam; Cope, Alex

    2017-09-01

    Designing hardware for miniaturized robotics which mimics the capabilities of flying insects is of interest, because they share similar constraints (i.e. small size, low weight, and low energy consumption). Research in this area aims to enable robots with similarly efficient flight and cognitive abilities. Visual processing is important to flying insects' impressive flight capabilities, but currently, embodiment of insect-like visual systems is limited by the hardware systems available. Suitable hardware is either prohibitively expensive, difficult to reproduce, cannot accurately simulate insect vision characteristics, and/or is too heavy for small robotic platforms. These limitations hamper the development of platforms for embodiment which in turn hampers the progress on understanding of how biological systems fundamentally work. To address this gap, this paper proposes an inexpensive, lightweight robotic system for modelling insect vision. The system is mounted and tested on a robotic platform for mobile applications, and then the camera and insect vision models are evaluated. We analyse the potential of the system for use in embodiment of higher-level visual processes (i.e. motion detection) and also for development of navigation based on vision for robotics in general. Optic flow from sample camera data is calculated and compared to a perfect, simulated bee world showing an excellent resemblance. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  18. Preliminary Effect of Synthetic Vision Systems Displays to Reduce Low-Visibility Loss of Control and Controlled Flight Into Terrain Accidents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glaab, Louis J.; Takallu, Mohammad A.

    2002-01-01

    An experimental investigation was conducted to study the effectiveness of Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) flight displays as a means of eliminating Low Visibility Loss of Control (LVLOC) and Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) accidents by low time general aviation (GA) pilots. A series of basic maneuvers were performed by 18 subject pilots during transition from Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) to Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC), with continued flight into IMC, employing a fixed-based flight simulator. A total of three display concepts were employed for this evaluation. One display concept, referred to as the Attitude Indicator (AI) replicated instrumentation common in today's General Aviation (GA) aircraft. The second display concept, referred to as the Electronic Attitude Indicator (EAI), featured an enlarged attitude indicator that was more representative of a glass display that also included advanced flight symbology, such as a velocity vector. The third concept, referred to as the SVS display, was identical to the EAI except that computer-generated terrain imagery replaced the conventional blue-sky/brown-ground of the EAI. Pilot performance parameters, pilot control inputs and physiological data were recorded for post-test analysis. Situation awareness (SA) and qualitative pilot comments were obtained through questionnaires and free-form interviews administered immediately after the experimental session. Initial pilot performance data were obtained by instructor pilot observations. Physiological data (skin temperature, heart rate, and muscle flexure) were also recorded. Preliminary results indicate that far less errors were committed when using the EAI and SVS displays than when using conventional instruments. The specific data example examined in this report illustrates the benefit from SVS displays to avoid massive loss of SA conditions. All pilots acknowledged the enhanced situation awareness provided by the SVS display concept. Levels of

  19. The autonomous vision system on TeamSat

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Betto, Maurizio; Jørgensen, John Leif; Riis, Troels

    1999-01-01

    The second qualification flight of Ariane 5 blasted off-the European Space Port in French Guiana on October 30, 1997, carrying on board a small technology demonstration satellite called TeamSat. Several experiments were proposed by various universities and research institutions in Europe and five...... of them were finally selected and integrated into TeamSat, namely FIPEX, VTS, YES, ODD and the Autonomous Vision System, AVS, a fully autonomous star tracker and vision system. This paper gives short overview of the TeamSat satellite; design, implementation and mission objectives. AVS is described in more...

  20. Machine vision systems using machine learning for industrial product inspection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Yi; Chen, Tie Q.; Chen, Jie; Zhang, Jian; Tisler, Anthony

    2002-02-01

    Machine vision inspection requires efficient processing time and accurate results. In this paper, we present a machine vision inspection architecture, SMV (Smart Machine Vision). SMV decomposes a machine vision inspection problem into two stages, Learning Inspection Features (LIF), and On-Line Inspection (OLI). The LIF is designed to learn visual inspection features from design data and/or from inspection products. During the OLI stage, the inspection system uses the knowledge learnt by the LIF component to inspect the visual features of products. In this paper we will present two machine vision inspection systems developed under the SMV architecture for two different types of products, Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and Vacuum Florescent Displaying (VFD) boards. In the VFD board inspection system, the LIF component learns inspection features from a VFD board and its displaying patterns. In the PCB board inspection system, the LIF learns the inspection features from the CAD file of a PCB board. In both systems, the LIF component also incorporates interactive learning to make the inspection system more powerful and efficient. The VFD system has been deployed successfully in three different manufacturing companies and the PCB inspection system is the process of being deployed in a manufacturing plant.

  1. Neuromorphic vision sensors and preprocessors in system applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kramer, Joerg; Indiveri, Giacomo

    1998-09-01

    A partial review of neuromorphic vision sensors that are suitable for use in autonomous systems is presented. Interfaces are being developed to multiplex the high- dimensional output signals of arrays of such sensors and to communicate them in standard formats to off-chip devices for higher-level processing, actuation, storage and display. Alternatively, on-chip processing stages may be implemented to extract sparse image parameters, thereby obviating the need for multiplexing. Autonomous robots are used to test neuromorphic vision chips in real-world environments and to explore the possibilities of data fusion from different sensing modalities. Examples of autonomous mobile systems that use neuromorphic vision chips for line tracking and optical flow matching are described.

  2. Machine Vision Systems for Processing Hardwood Lumber and Logs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philip A. Araman; Daniel L. Schmoldt; Tai-Hoon Cho; Dongping Zhu; Richard W. Conners; D. Earl Kline

    1992-01-01

    Machine vision and automated processing systems are under development at Virginia Tech University with support and cooperation from the USDA Forest Service. Our goals are to help U.S. hardwood producers automate, reduce costs, increase product volume and value recovery, and market higher value, more accurately graded and described products. Any vision system is...

  3. Synthetic Biology: Engineering Living Systems from Biophysical Principles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartley, Bryan A; Kim, Kyung; Medley, J Kyle; Sauro, Herbert M

    2017-03-28

    Synthetic biology was founded as a biophysical discipline that sought explanations for the origins of life from chemical and physical first principles. Modern synthetic biology has been reinvented as an engineering discipline to design new organisms as well as to better understand fundamental biological mechanisms. However, success is still largely limited to the laboratory and transformative applications of synthetic biology are still in their infancy. Here, we review six principles of living systems and how they compare and contrast with engineered systems. We cite specific examples from the synthetic biology literature that illustrate these principles and speculate on their implications for further study. To fully realize the promise of synthetic biology, we must be aware of life's unique properties. Copyright © 2017 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Tunable promoters in synthetic and systems biology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dehli, Tore; Solem, Christian; Jensen, Peter Ruhdal

    2012-01-01

    in synthetic biology. A number of tools exist to manipulate the steps in between gene sequence and functional protein in living cells, but out of these the most straight-forward approach is to alter the gene expression level by manipulating the promoter sequence. Some of the promoter tuning tools available......Synthetic and systems biologists need standardized, modular and orthogonal tools yielding predictable functions in vivo. In systems biology such tools are needed to quantitatively analyze the behavior of biological systems while the efficient engineering of artificial gene networks is central...... for accomplishing such altered gene expression levels are discussed here along with examples of their use, and ideas for new tools are described. The road ahead looks very promising for synthetic and systems biologists as tools to achieve just about anything in terms of tuning and timing multiple gene expression...

  5. An FPGA Implementation of a Robot Control System with an Integrated 3D Vision System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Ting Chen

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Robot decision making and motion control are commonly based on visual information in various applications. Position-based visual servo is a technique for vision-based robot control, which operates in the 3D workspace, uses real-time image processing to perform tasks of feature extraction, and returns the pose of the object for positioning control. In order to handle the computational burden at the vision sensor feedback, we design a FPGA-based motion-vision integrated system that employs dedicated hardware circuits for processing vision processing and motion control functions. This research conducts a preliminary study to explore the integration of 3D vision and robot motion control system design based on a single field programmable gate array (FPGA chip. The implemented motion-vision embedded system performs the following functions: filtering, image statistics, binary morphology, binary object analysis, object 3D position calculation, robot inverse kinematics, velocity profile generation, feedback counting, and multiple-axes position feedback control.

  6. Vision-based obstacle recognition system for automated lawn mower robot development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohd Zin, Zalhan; Ibrahim, Ratnawati

    2011-06-01

    Digital image processing techniques (DIP) have been widely used in various types of application recently. Classification and recognition of a specific object using vision system require some challenging tasks in the field of image processing and artificial intelligence. The ability and efficiency of vision system to capture and process the images is very important for any intelligent system such as autonomous robot. This paper gives attention to the development of a vision system that could contribute to the development of an automated vision based lawn mower robot. The works involve on the implementation of DIP techniques to detect and recognize three different types of obstacles that usually exist on a football field. The focus was given on the study on different types and sizes of obstacles, the development of vision based obstacle recognition system and the evaluation of the system's performance. Image processing techniques such as image filtering, segmentation, enhancement and edge detection have been applied in the system. The results have shown that the developed system is able to detect and recognize various types of obstacles on a football field with recognition rate of more 80%.

  7. Lighting system with thermal management system having point contact synthetic jets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arik, Mehmet; Weaver, Stanton Earl; Kuenzler, Glenn Howard; Wolfe, Jr., Charles Franklin; Sharma, Rajdeep

    2013-12-10

    Lighting system having unique configurations are provided. For instance, the lighting system may include a light source, a thermal management system and driver electronics, each contained within a housing structure. The light source is configured to provide illumination visible through an opening in the housing structure. The thermal management system includes a plurality of synthetic jets. The synthetic jets are arranged within the lighting system such that they are secured at contact points.

  8. Advanced robot vision system for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Onoguchi, Kazunori; Kawamura, Atsuro; Nakayama, Ryoichi.

    1991-01-01

    We have developed a robot vision system for advanced robots used in nuclear power plants, under a contract with the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. This work is part of the large-scale 'advanced robot technology' project. The robot vision system consists of self-location measurement, obstacle detection, and object recognition subsystems, which are activated by a total control subsystem. This paper presents details of these subsystems and the experimental results obtained. (author)

  9. Machine-Vision Systems Selection for Agricultural Vehicles: A Guide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gonzalo Pajares

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Machine vision systems are becoming increasingly common onboard agricultural vehicles (autonomous and non-autonomous for different tasks. This paper provides guidelines for selecting machine-vision systems for optimum performance, considering the adverse conditions on these outdoor environments with high variability on the illumination, irregular terrain conditions or different plant growth states, among others. In this regard, three main topics have been conveniently addressed for the best selection: (a spectral bands (visible and infrared; (b imaging sensors and optical systems (including intrinsic parameters and (c geometric visual system arrangement (considering extrinsic parameters and stereovision systems. A general overview, with detailed description and technical support, is provided for each topic with illustrative examples focused on specific applications in agriculture, although they could be applied in different contexts other than agricultural. A case study is provided as a result of research in the RHEA (Robot Fleets for Highly Effective Agriculture and Forestry Management project for effective weed control in maize fields (wide-rows crops, funded by the European Union, where the machine vision system onboard the autonomous vehicles was the most important part of the full perception system, where machine vision was the most relevant. Details and results about crop row detection, weed patches identification, autonomous vehicle guidance and obstacle detection are provided together with a review of methods and approaches on these topics.

  10. A Machine Vision System for Automatically Grading Hardwood Lumber - (Proceedings)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard W. Conners; Tai-Hoon Cho; Chong T. Ng; Thomas H. Drayer; Joe G. Tront; Philip A. Araman; Robert L. Brisbon

    1990-01-01

    Any automatic system for grading hardwood lumber can conceptually be divided into two components. One of these is a machine vision system for locating and identifying grading defects. The other is an automatic grading program that accepts as input the output of the machine vision system and, based on these data, determines the grade of a board. The progress that has...

  11. Range-Image Acquisition for Discriminated Objects in a Range-gated Robot Vision System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Seung-Kyu; Ahn, Yong-Jin; Park, Nak-Kyu; Baik, Sung-Hoon; Choi, Young-Soo; Jeong, Kyung-Min [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-05-15

    The imaging capability of a surveillance vision system from harsh low-visibility environments such as in fire and detonation areas is a key function to monitor the safety of the facilities. 2D and range image data acquired from low-visibility environment are important data to assess the safety and prepare appropriate countermeasures. Passive vision systems, such as conventional camera and binocular stereo vision systems usually cannot acquire image information when the reflected light is highly scattered and absorbed by airborne particles such as fog. In addition, the image resolution captured through low-density airborne particles is decreased because the image is blurred and dimmed by the scattering, emission and absorption. Active vision systems, such as structured light vision and projected stereo vision are usually more robust for harsh environment than passive vision systems. However, the performance is considerably decreased in proportion to the density of the particles. The RGI system provides 2D and range image data from several RGI images and it moreover provides clear images from low-visibility fog and smoke environment by using the sum of time-sliced images. Nowadays, the Range-gated (RG) imaging is an emerging technology in the field of surveillance for security applications, especially in the visualization of invisible night and fog environment. Although RGI viewing was discovered in the 1960's, this technology is, nowadays becoming more applicable by virtue of the rapid development of optical and sensor technologies. Especially, this system can be adopted in robot-vision system by virtue of its compact portable configuration. In contrast to passive vision systems, this technology enables operation even in harsh environments like fog and smoke. During the past decades, several applications of this technology have been applied in target recognition and in harsh environments, such as fog, underwater vision. Also, this technology has been

  12. Range-Image Acquisition for Discriminated Objects in a Range-gated Robot Vision System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Seung-Kyu; Ahn, Yong-Jin; Park, Nak-Kyu; Baik, Sung-Hoon; Choi, Young-Soo; Jeong, Kyung-Min

    2015-01-01

    The imaging capability of a surveillance vision system from harsh low-visibility environments such as in fire and detonation areas is a key function to monitor the safety of the facilities. 2D and range image data acquired from low-visibility environment are important data to assess the safety and prepare appropriate countermeasures. Passive vision systems, such as conventional camera and binocular stereo vision systems usually cannot acquire image information when the reflected light is highly scattered and absorbed by airborne particles such as fog. In addition, the image resolution captured through low-density airborne particles is decreased because the image is blurred and dimmed by the scattering, emission and absorption. Active vision systems, such as structured light vision and projected stereo vision are usually more robust for harsh environment than passive vision systems. However, the performance is considerably decreased in proportion to the density of the particles. The RGI system provides 2D and range image data from several RGI images and it moreover provides clear images from low-visibility fog and smoke environment by using the sum of time-sliced images. Nowadays, the Range-gated (RG) imaging is an emerging technology in the field of surveillance for security applications, especially in the visualization of invisible night and fog environment. Although RGI viewing was discovered in the 1960's, this technology is, nowadays becoming more applicable by virtue of the rapid development of optical and sensor technologies. Especially, this system can be adopted in robot-vision system by virtue of its compact portable configuration. In contrast to passive vision systems, this technology enables operation even in harsh environments like fog and smoke. During the past decades, several applications of this technology have been applied in target recognition and in harsh environments, such as fog, underwater vision. Also, this technology has been

  13. An Integrated Calibration Technique for Stereo Vision Systems (PREPRINT)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-01

    technique for stereo vision systems has been developed. To demonstrate and evaluate this calibration technique, multiple Wii Remotes (Wiimotes) from Nintendo ...from Nintendo were used to form stereo vision systems to perform 3D motion capture in real time. This integrated technique is a two-step process...Wiimotes) used in Nintendo Wii games. Many researchers have successfully dealt with the problem of camera calibration by taking images from a 2D

  14. Systems Biology as an Integrated Platform for Bioinformatics, Systems Synthetic Biology, and Systems Metabolic Engineering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Bor-Sen; Wu, Chia-Chou

    2013-01-01

    Systems biology aims at achieving a system-level understanding of living organisms and applying this knowledge to various fields such as synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and medicine. System-level understanding of living organisms can be derived from insight into: (i) system structure and the mechanism of biological networks such as gene regulation, protein interactions, signaling, and metabolic pathways; (ii) system dynamics of biological networks, which provides an understanding of stability, robustness, and transduction ability through system identification, and through system analysis methods; (iii) system control methods at different levels of biological networks, which provide an understanding of systematic mechanisms to robustly control system states, minimize malfunctions, and provide potential therapeutic targets in disease treatment; (iv) systematic design methods for the modification and construction of biological networks with desired behaviors, which provide system design principles and system simulations for synthetic biology designs and systems metabolic engineering. This review describes current developments in systems biology, systems synthetic biology, and systems metabolic engineering for engineering and biology researchers. We also discuss challenges and future prospects for systems biology and the concept of systems biology as an integrated platform for bioinformatics, systems synthetic biology, and systems metabolic engineering. PMID:24709875

  15. Systems Biology as an Integrated Platform for Bioinformatics, Systems Synthetic Biology, and Systems Metabolic Engineering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bor-Sen Chen

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Systems biology aims at achieving a system-level understanding of living organisms and applying this knowledge to various fields such as synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and medicine. System-level understanding of living organisms can be derived from insight into: (i system structure and the mechanism of biological networks such as gene regulation, protein interactions, signaling, and metabolic pathways; (ii system dynamics of biological networks, which provides an understanding of stability, robustness, and transduction ability through system identification, and through system analysis methods; (iii system control methods at different levels of biological networks, which provide an understanding of systematic mechanisms to robustly control system states, minimize malfunctions, and provide potential therapeutic targets in disease treatment; (iv systematic design methods for the modification and construction of biological networks with desired behaviors, which provide system design principles and system simulations for synthetic biology designs and systems metabolic engineering. This review describes current developments in systems biology, systems synthetic biology, and systems metabolic engineering for engineering and biology researchers. We also discuss challenges and future prospects for systems biology and the concept of systems biology as an integrated platform for bioinformatics, systems synthetic biology, and systems metabolic engineering.

  16. Intensity measurement of automotive headlamps using a photometric vision system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Balvant; Cruz, Jose; Perry, David L.; Himebaugh, Frederic G.

    1996-01-01

    Requirements for automotive head lamp luminous intensity tests are introduced. The rationale for developing a non-goniometric photometric test system is discussed. The design of the Ford photometric vision system (FPVS) is presented, including hardware, software, calibration, and system use. Directional intensity plots and regulatory test results obtained from the system are compared to corresponding results obtained from a Ford goniometric test system. Sources of error for the vision system and goniometer are discussed. Directions for new work are identified.

  17. Grasping Unknown Objects in an Early Cognitive Vision System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Popovic, Mila

    2011-01-01

    Grasping of unknown objects presents an important and challenging part of robot manipulation. The growing area of service robotics depends upon the ability of robots to autonomously grasp and manipulate a wide range of objects in everyday environments. Simple, non task-specific grasps of unknown ...... and comparing vision-based grasping methods, and the creation of algorithms for bootstrapping a process of acquiring world understanding for artificial cognitive agents....... presents a system for robotic grasping of unknown objects us- ing stereo vision. Grasps are defined based on contour and surface information provided by the Early Cognitive Vision System, that organizes visual informa- tion into a biologically motivated hierarchical representation. The contributions...... of the thesis are: the extension of the Early Cognitive Vision representation with a new type of feature hierarchy in the texture domain, the definition and evaluation of contour based grasping methods, the definition and evaluation of surface based grasping methods, the definition of a benchmark for testing...

  18. Theoretical Limits of Lunar Vision Aided Navigation with Inertial Navigation System

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-03-26

    THEORETICAL LIMITS OF LUNAR VISION AIDED NAVIGATION WITH INERTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM THESIS David W. Jones, Capt, USAF AFIT-ENG-MS-15-M-020 DEPARTMENT...Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. AFIT-ENG-MS-15-M-020 THEORETICAL LIMITS OF LUNAR VISION AIDED NAVIGATION WITH...DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED. AFIT-ENG-MS-15-M-020 THEORETICAL LIMITS OF LUNAR VISION AIDED NAVIGATION WITH INERTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM THESIS David W. Jones

  19. Computer vision in control systems

    CERN Document Server

    Jain, Lakhmi

    2015-01-01

    Volume 1 : This book is focused on the recent advances in computer vision methodologies and technical solutions using conventional and intelligent paradigms. The Contributions include: ·         Morphological Image Analysis for Computer Vision Applications. ·         Methods for Detecting of Structural Changes in Computer Vision Systems. ·         Hierarchical Adaptive KL-based Transform: Algorithms and Applications. ·         Automatic Estimation for Parameters of Image Projective Transforms Based on Object-invariant Cores. ·         A Way of Energy Analysis for Image and Video Sequence Processing. ·         Optimal Measurement of Visual Motion Across Spatial and Temporal Scales. ·         Scene Analysis Using Morphological Mathematics and Fuzzy Logic. ·         Digital Video Stabilization in Static and Dynamic Scenes. ·         Implementation of Hadamard Matrices for Image Processing. ·         A Generalized Criterion ...

  20. Computer Vision System For Locating And Identifying Defects In Hardwood Lumber

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conners, Richard W.; Ng, Chong T.; Cho, Tai-Hoon; McMillin, Charles W.

    1989-03-01

    This paper describes research aimed at developing an automatic cutup system for use in the rough mills of the hardwood furniture and fixture industry. In particular, this paper describes attempts to create the vision system that will power this automatic cutup system. There are a number of factors that make the development of such a vision system a challenge. First there is the innate variability of the wood material itself. No two species look exactly the same, in fact, they can have a significant visual difference in appearance among species. Yet a truly robust vision system must be able to handle a variety of such species, preferably with no operator intervention required when changing from one species to another. Secondly, there is a good deal of variability in the definition of what constitutes a removable defect. The hardwood furniture and fixture industry is diverse in the nature of the products that it makes. The products range from hardwood flooring to fancy hardwood furniture, from simple mill work to kitchen cabinets. Thus depending on the manufacturer, the product, and the quality of the product the nature of what constitutes a removable defect can and does vary. The vision system must be such that it can be tailored to meet each of these unique needs, preferably without any additional program modifications. This paper will describe the vision system that has been developed. It will assess the current system capabilities, and it will discuss the directions for future research. It will be argued that artificial intelligence methods provide a natural mechanism for attacking this computer vision application.

  1. Development of Vision System for Dimensional Measurement for Irradiated Fuel Assembly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, Jungcheol; Kwon, Yongbock; Park, Jongyoul; Woo, Sangkyun; Kim, Yonghwan; Jang, Youngki; Choi, Joonhyung; Lee, Kyuseog

    2006-01-01

    In order to develop an advanced nuclear fuel, a series of pool side examination (PSE) is performed to confirm in-pile behavior of the fuel for commercial production. For this purpose, a vision system was developed to measure for mechanical integrity, such as assembly bowing, twist and growth, of the loaded lead test assembly. Using this vision system, three(3) times of PSE were carried out at Uljin Unit 3 and Kori Unit 2 for the advanced fuels, PLUS7 TM and 16ACE7 TM , developed by KNFC. Among the main characteristics of the vision system is very simple structure and measuring principal. This feature enables the equipment installation and inspection time to reduce largely, and leads the PSE can be finished without disturbance on the fuel loading and unloading activities during utility overhaul periods. And another feature is high accuracy and repeatability achieved by this vision system

  2. Low Cost Night Vision System for Intruder Detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Liang S.; Yusoff, Wan Azhar Wan; R, Dhinesh; Sak, J. S.

    2016-02-01

    The growth in production of Android devices has resulted in greater functionalities as well as lower costs. This has made previously more expensive systems such as night vision affordable for more businesses and end users. We designed and implemented robust and low cost night vision systems based on red-green-blue (RGB) colour histogram for a static camera as well as a camera on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), using OpenCV library on Intel compatible notebook computers, running Ubuntu Linux operating system, with less than 8GB of RAM. They were tested against human intruders under low light conditions (indoor, outdoor, night time) and were shown to have successfully detected the intruders.

  3. Robot path planning using expert systems and machine vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malone, Denis E.; Friedrich, Werner E.

    1992-02-01

    This paper describes a system developed for the robotic processing of naturally variable products. In order to plan the robot motion path it was necessary to use a sensor system, in this case a machine vision system, to observe the variations occurring in workpieces and interpret this with a knowledge based expert system. The knowledge base was acquired by carrying out an in-depth study of the product using examination procedures not available in the robotic workplace and relates the nature of the required path to the information obtainable from the machine vision system. The practical application of this system to the processing of fish fillets is described and used to illustrate the techniques.

  4. Robotic vision system for random bin picking with dual-arm robots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kang Sangseung

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Random bin picking is one of the most challenging industrial robotics applications available. It constitutes a complicated interaction between the vision system, robot, and control system. For a packaging operation requiring a pick-and-place task, the robot system utilized should be able to perform certain functions for recognizing the applicable target object from randomized objects in a bin. In this paper, we introduce a robotic vision system for bin picking using industrial dual-arm robots. The proposed system recognizes the best object from randomized target candidates based on stereo vision, and estimates the position and orientation of the object. It then sends the result to the robot control system. The system was developed for use in the packaging process of cell phone accessories using dual-arm robots.

  5. Development of a Compact Range-gated Vision System to Monitor Structures in Low-visibility Environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahn, Yong-Jin; Park, Seung-Kyu; Baik, Sung-Hoon; Kim, Dong-Lyul; Choi, Young-Soo; Jeong, Kyung-Min

    2015-01-01

    Image acquisition in disaster area or radiation area of nuclear industry is an important function for safety inspection and preparing appropriate damage control plans. So, automatic vision system to monitor structures and facilities in blurred smoking environments such as the places of a fire and detonation is essential. Vision systems can't acquire an image when the illumination light is blocked by disturbance materials, such as smoke, fog and dust. To overcome the imaging distortion caused by obstacle materials, robust vision systems should have extra-functions, such as active illumination through disturbance materials. One of active vision system is a range-gated imaging system. The vision system based on the range-gated imaging system can acquire image data from the blurred and darken light environments. Range-gated imaging (RGI) is a direct active visualization technique using a highly sensitive image sensor and a high intensity illuminant. Currently, the range-gated imaging technique providing 2D and range image data is one of emerging active vision technologies. The range-gated imaging system gets vision information by summing time sliced vision images. In the RGI system, a high intensity illuminant illuminates for ultra-short time and a highly sensitive image sensor is gated by ultra-short exposure time to only get the illumination light. Here, the illuminant illuminates objects by flashing strong light through disturbance materials, such as smoke particles and dust particles. In contrast to passive conventional vision systems, the RGI active vision technology enables operation even in harsh environments like low-visibility smoky environment. In this paper, a compact range-gated vision system is developed to monitor structures in low-visibility environment. The system consists of illumination light, a range-gating camera and a control computer. Visualization experiments are carried out in low-visibility foggy environment to see imaging capability

  6. Development of a Compact Range-gated Vision System to Monitor Structures in Low-visibility Environments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahn, Yong-Jin; Park, Seung-Kyu; Baik, Sung-Hoon; Kim, Dong-Lyul; Choi, Young-Soo; Jeong, Kyung-Min [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-05-15

    Image acquisition in disaster area or radiation area of nuclear industry is an important function for safety inspection and preparing appropriate damage control plans. So, automatic vision system to monitor structures and facilities in blurred smoking environments such as the places of a fire and detonation is essential. Vision systems can't acquire an image when the illumination light is blocked by disturbance materials, such as smoke, fog and dust. To overcome the imaging distortion caused by obstacle materials, robust vision systems should have extra-functions, such as active illumination through disturbance materials. One of active vision system is a range-gated imaging system. The vision system based on the range-gated imaging system can acquire image data from the blurred and darken light environments. Range-gated imaging (RGI) is a direct active visualization technique using a highly sensitive image sensor and a high intensity illuminant. Currently, the range-gated imaging technique providing 2D and range image data is one of emerging active vision technologies. The range-gated imaging system gets vision information by summing time sliced vision images. In the RGI system, a high intensity illuminant illuminates for ultra-short time and a highly sensitive image sensor is gated by ultra-short exposure time to only get the illumination light. Here, the illuminant illuminates objects by flashing strong light through disturbance materials, such as smoke particles and dust particles. In contrast to passive conventional vision systems, the RGI active vision technology enables operation even in harsh environments like low-visibility smoky environment. In this paper, a compact range-gated vision system is developed to monitor structures in low-visibility environment. The system consists of illumination light, a range-gating camera and a control computer. Visualization experiments are carried out in low-visibility foggy environment to see imaging capability.

  7. A smart sensor-based vision system: implementation and evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elouardi, A; Bouaziz, S; Dupret, A; Lacassagne, L; Klein, J O; Reynaud, R

    2006-01-01

    One of the methods of solving the computational complexity of image-processing is to perform some low-level computations on the sensor focal plane. This paper presents a vision system based on a smart sensor. PARIS1 (Programmable Analog Retina-like Image Sensor1) is the first prototype used to evaluate the architecture of an on-chip vision system based on such a sensor coupled with a microcontroller. The smart sensor integrates a set of analog and digital computing units. This architecture paves the way for a more compact vision system and increases the performances reducing the data flow exchanges with a microprocessor in control. A system has been implemented as a proof-of-concept and has enabled us to evaluate the performance requirements for a possible integration of a microcontroller on the same chip. The used approach is compared with two architectures implementing CMOS active pixel sensors (APS) and interfaced to the same microcontroller. The comparison is related to image processing computation time, processing reliability, programmability, precision, bandwidth and subsequent stages of computations

  8. A smart sensor-based vision system: implementation and evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Elouardi, A; Bouaziz, S; Dupret, A; Lacassagne, L; Klein, J O; Reynaud, R [Institute of Fundamental Electronics, Bat. 220, Paris XI University, 91405 Orsay (France)

    2006-04-21

    One of the methods of solving the computational complexity of image-processing is to perform some low-level computations on the sensor focal plane. This paper presents a vision system based on a smart sensor. PARIS1 (Programmable Analog Retina-like Image Sensor1) is the first prototype used to evaluate the architecture of an on-chip vision system based on such a sensor coupled with a microcontroller. The smart sensor integrates a set of analog and digital computing units. This architecture paves the way for a more compact vision system and increases the performances reducing the data flow exchanges with a microprocessor in control. A system has been implemented as a proof-of-concept and has enabled us to evaluate the performance requirements for a possible integration of a microcontroller on the same chip. The used approach is compared with two architectures implementing CMOS active pixel sensors (APS) and interfaced to the same microcontroller. The comparison is related to image processing computation time, processing reliability, programmability, precision, bandwidth and subsequent stages of computations.

  9. A Machine Vision System for Automatically Grading Hardwood Lumber - (Industrial Metrology)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard W. Conners; Tai-Hoon Cho; Chong T. Ng; Thomas T. Drayer; Philip A. Araman; Robert L. Brisbon

    1992-01-01

    Any automatic system for grading hardwood lumber can conceptually be divided into two components. One of these is a machine vision system for locating and identifying grading defects. The other is an automatic grading program that accepts as input the output of the machine vision system and, based on these data, determines the grade of a board. The progress that has...

  10. Multivariate Analysis Techniques for Optimal Vision System Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sharifzadeh, Sara

    The present thesis considers optimization of the spectral vision systems used for quality inspection of food items. The relationship between food quality, vision based techniques and spectral signature are described. The vision instruments for food analysis as well as datasets of the food items...... used in this thesis are described. The methodological strategies are outlined including sparse regression and pre-processing based on feature selection and extraction methods, supervised versus unsupervised analysis and linear versus non-linear approaches. One supervised feature selection algorithm...... (SSPCA) and DCT based characterization of the spectral diffused reflectance images for wavelength selection and discrimination. These methods together with some other state-of-the-art statistical and mathematical analysis techniques are applied on datasets of different food items; meat, diaries, fruits...

  11. Exploring Synthetic and Systems Biology at the University of Edinburgh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher, Liz; Rosser, Susan; Elfick, Alistair

    2016-06-15

    The Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology ('SynthSys') was originally established in 2007 as the Centre for Integrative Systems Biology, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Today, SynthSys embraces an extensive multidisciplinary community of more than 200 researchers from across the University with a common interest in synthetic and systems biology. Our research is broad and deep, addressing a diversity of scientific questions, with wide ranging impact. We bring together the power of synthetic biology and systems approaches to focus on three core thematic areas: industrial biotechnology, agriculture and the environment, and medicine and healthcare. In October 2015, we opened a newly refurbished building as a physical hub for our new U.K. Centre for Mammalian Synthetic Biology funded by the BBSRC/EPSRC/MRC as part of the U.K. Research Councils' Synthetic Biology for Growth programme. © 2016 The Author(s). published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

  12. Dynamical Systems and Motion Vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1988-04-01

    TASK Artificial Inteligence Laboratory AREA I WORK UNIT NUMBERS 545 Technology Square . Cambridge, MA 02139 C\\ II. CONTROLLING OFFICE NAME ANO0 ADDRESS...INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LABORATORY A.I.Memo No. 1037 April, 1988 Dynamical Systems and Motion Vision Joachim Heel Abstract: In this... Artificial Intelligence L3 Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Support for the Laboratory’s [1 Artificial Intelligence Research is

  13. Surface Casting Defects Inspection Using Vision System and Neural Network Techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Świłło S.J.

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents a vision based approach and neural network techniques in surface defects inspection and categorization. Depending on part design and processing techniques, castings may develop surface discontinuities such as cracks and pores that greatly influence the material’s properties Since the human visual inspection for the surface is slow and expensive, a computer vision system is an alternative solution for the online inspection. The authors present the developed vision system uses an advanced image processing algorithm based on modified Laplacian of Gaussian edge detection method and advanced lighting system. The defect inspection algorithm consists of several parameters that allow the user to specify the sensitivity level at which he can accept the defects in the casting. In addition to the developed image processing algorithm and vision system apparatus, an advanced learning process has been developed, based on neural network techniques. Finally, as an example three groups of defects were investigated demonstrates automatic selection and categorization of the measured defects, such as blowholes, shrinkage porosity and shrinkage cavity.

  14. Synthetic Biology: Tools to Design, Build, and Optimize Cellular Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Eric; Alper, Hal

    2010-01-01

    The general central dogma frames the emergent properties of life, which make biology both necessary and difficult to engineer. In a process engineering paradigm, each biological process stream and process unit is heavily influenced by regulatory interactions and interactions with the surrounding environment. Synthetic biology is developing the tools and methods that will increase control over these interactions, eventually resulting in an integrative synthetic biology that will allow ground-up cellular optimization. In this review, we attempt to contextualize the areas of synthetic biology into three tiers: (1) the process units and associated streams of the central dogma, (2) the intrinsic regulatory mechanisms, and (3) the extrinsic physical and chemical environment. Efforts at each of these three tiers attempt to control cellular systems and take advantage of emerging tools and approaches. Ultimately, it will be possible to integrate these approaches and realize the vision of integrative synthetic biology when cells are completely rewired for biotechnological goals. This review will highlight progress towards this goal as well as areas requiring further research. PMID:20150964

  15. Synthetic Biology: Tools to Design, Build, and Optimize Cellular Processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric Young

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The general central dogma frames the emergent properties of life, which make biology both necessary and difficult to engineer. In a process engineering paradigm, each biological process stream and process unit is heavily influenced by regulatory interactions and interactions with the surrounding environment. Synthetic biology is developing the tools and methods that will increase control over these interactions, eventually resulting in an integrative synthetic biology that will allow ground-up cellular optimization. In this review, we attempt to contextualize the areas of synthetic biology into three tiers: (1 the process units and associated streams of the central dogma, (2 the intrinsic regulatory mechanisms, and (3 the extrinsic physical and chemical environment. Efforts at each of these three tiers attempt to control cellular systems and take advantage of emerging tools and approaches. Ultimately, it will be possible to integrate these approaches and realize the vision of integrative synthetic biology when cells are completely rewired for biotechnological goals. This review will highlight progress towards this goal as well as areas requiring further research.

  16. Synthetic biology: tools to design, build, and optimize cellular processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Eric; Alper, Hal

    2010-01-01

    The general central dogma frames the emergent properties of life, which make biology both necessary and difficult to engineer. In a process engineering paradigm, each biological process stream and process unit is heavily influenced by regulatory interactions and interactions with the surrounding environment. Synthetic biology is developing the tools and methods that will increase control over these interactions, eventually resulting in an integrative synthetic biology that will allow ground-up cellular optimization. In this review, we attempt to contextualize the areas of synthetic biology into three tiers: (1) the process units and associated streams of the central dogma, (2) the intrinsic regulatory mechanisms, and (3) the extrinsic physical and chemical environment. Efforts at each of these three tiers attempt to control cellular systems and take advantage of emerging tools and approaches. Ultimately, it will be possible to integrate these approaches and realize the vision of integrative synthetic biology when cells are completely rewired for biotechnological goals. This review will highlight progress towards this goal as well as areas requiring further research.

  17. The role of vision processing in prosthetic vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, Nick; He, Xuming; McCarthy, Chris; Horne, Lachlan; Kim, Junae; Scott, Adele; Lieby, Paulette

    2012-01-01

    Prosthetic vision provides vision which is reduced in resolution and dynamic range compared to normal human vision. This comes about both due to residual damage to the visual system from the condition that caused vision loss, and due to limitations of current technology. However, even with limitations, prosthetic vision may still be able to support functional performance which is sufficient for tasks which are key to restoring independent living and quality of life. Here vision processing can play a key role, ensuring that information which is critical to the performance of key tasks is available within the capability of the available prosthetic vision. In this paper, we frame vision processing for prosthetic vision, highlight some key areas which present problems in terms of quality of life, and present examples where vision processing can help achieve better outcomes.

  18. Improvement of the image quality of a high-temperature vision system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fabijańska, Anna; Sankowski, Dominik

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, the issues of controlling and improving the image quality of a high-temperature vision system are considered. The image quality improvement is needed to measure the surface properties of metals and alloys. Two levels of image quality control and improvement are defined in the system. The first level in hardware aims at adjusting the system configuration to obtain the highest contrast and weakest aura images. When optimal configuration is obtained, the second level in software is applied. In this stage, image enhancement algorithms are applied which have been developed with consideration of distortions arising from the vision system components and specificity of images acquired during the measurement process. The developed algorithms have been applied in the vision system to images. The influence on the accuracy of wetting angles and surface tension determination are considered

  19. A robust embedded vision system feasible white balance algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yuan; Yu, Feihong

    2018-01-01

    White balance is a very important part of the color image processing pipeline. In order to meet the need of efficiency and accuracy in embedded machine vision processing system, an efficient and robust white balance algorithm combining several classical ones is proposed. The proposed algorithm mainly has three parts. Firstly, in order to guarantee higher efficiency, an initial parameter calculated from the statistics of R, G and B components from raw data is used to initialize the following iterative method. After that, the bilinear interpolation algorithm is utilized to implement demosaicing procedure. Finally, an adaptive step adjustable scheme is introduced to ensure the controllability and robustness of the algorithm. In order to verify the proposed algorithm's performance on embedded vision system, a smart camera based on IMX6 DualLite, IMX291 and XC6130 is designed. Extensive experiments on a large amount of images under different color temperatures and exposure conditions illustrate that the proposed white balance algorithm avoids color deviation problem effectively, achieves a good balance between efficiency and quality, and is suitable for embedded machine vision processing system.

  20. Machine vision system for measuring conifer seedling morphology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rigney, Michael P.; Kranzler, Glenn A.

    1995-01-01

    A PC-based machine vision system providing rapid measurement of bare-root tree seedling morphological features has been designed. The system uses backlighting and a 2048-pixel line- scan camera to acquire images with transverse resolutions as high as 0.05 mm for precise measurement of stem diameter. Individual seedlings are manually loaded on a conveyor belt and inspected by the vision system in less than 0.25 seconds. Designed for quality control and morphological data acquisition by nursery personnel, the system provides a user-friendly, menu-driven graphical interface. The system automatically locates the seedling root collar and measures stem diameter, shoot height, sturdiness ratio, root mass length, projected shoot and root area, shoot-root area ratio, and percent fine roots. Sample statistics are computed for each measured feature. Measurements for each seedling may be stored for later analysis. Feature measurements may be compared with multi-class quality criteria to determine sample quality or to perform multi-class sorting. Statistical summary and classification reports may be printed to facilitate the communication of quality concerns with grading personnel. Tests were conducted at a commercial forest nursery to evaluate measurement precision. Four quality control personnel measured root collar diameter, stem height, and root mass length on each of 200 conifer seedlings. The same seedlings were inspected four times by the machine vision system. Machine stem diameter measurement precision was four times greater than that of manual measurements. Machine and manual measurements had comparable precision for shoot height and root mass length.

  1. A global calibration method for multiple vision sensors based on multiple targets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Zhen; Zhang, Guangjun; Wei, Zhenzhong; Sun, Junhua

    2011-01-01

    The global calibration of multiple vision sensors (MVS) has been widely studied in the last two decades. In this paper, we present a global calibration method for MVS with non-overlapping fields of view (FOVs) using multiple targets (MT). MT is constructed by fixing several targets, called sub-targets, together. The mutual coordinate transformations between sub-targets need not be known. The main procedures of the proposed method are as follows: one vision sensor is selected from MVS to establish the global coordinate frame (GCF). MT is placed in front of the vision sensors for several (at least four) times. Using the constraint that the relative positions of all sub-targets are invariant, the transformation matrix from the coordinate frame of each vision sensor to GCF can be solved. Both synthetic and real experiments are carried out and good result is obtained. The proposed method has been applied to several real measurement systems and shown to be both flexible and accurate. It can serve as an attractive alternative to existing global calibration methods

  2. Synthetic Immunology: Hacking Immune Cells to Expand Their Therapeutic Capabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roybal, Kole T; Lim, Wendell A

    2017-04-26

    The ability of immune cells to survey tissues and sense pathologic insults and deviations makes them a unique platform for interfacing with the body and disease. With the rapid advancement of synthetic biology, we can now engineer and equip immune cells with new sensors and controllable therapeutic response programs to sense and treat diseases that our natural immune system cannot normally handle. Here we review the current state of engineered immune cell therapeutics and their unique capabilities compared to small molecules and biologics. We then discuss how engineered immune cells are being designed to combat cancer, focusing on how new synthetic biology tools are providing potential ways to overcome the major roadblocks for treatment. Finally, we give a long-term vision for the use of synthetic biology to engineer immune cells as a general sensor-response platform to precisely detect disease, to remodel disease microenvironments, and to treat a potentially wide range of challenging diseases.

  3. Image Acquisition of Robust Vision Systems to Monitor Blurred Objects in Hazy Smoking Environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahn, Yongjin; Park, Seungkyu; Baik, Sunghoon; Kim, Donglyul; Nam, Sungmo; Jeong, Kyungmin

    2014-01-01

    Image information in disaster area or radiation area of nuclear industry is an important data for safety inspection and preparing appropriate damage control plans. So, robust vision system for structures and facilities in blurred smoking environments, such as the places of a fire and detonation, is essential in remote monitoring. Vision systems can't acquire an image when the illumination light is blocked by disturbance materials, such as smoke, fog, dust. The vision system based on wavefront correction can be applied to blurred imaging environments and the range-gated imaging system can be applied to both of blurred imaging and darken light environments. Wavefront control is a widely used technique to improve the performance of optical systems by actively correcting wavefront distortions, such as atmospheric turbulence, thermally-induced distortions, and laser or laser device aberrations, which can reduce the peak intensity and smear an acquired image. The principal applications of wavefront control are for improving the image quality in optical imaging systems such as infrared astronomical telescopes, in imaging and tracking rapidly moving space objects, and in compensating for laser beam distortion through the atmosphere. A conventional wavefront correction system consists of a wavefront sensor, a deformable mirror and a control computer. The control computer measures the wavefront distortions using a wavefront sensor and corrects it using a deformable mirror in a closed-loop. Range-gated imaging (RGI) is a direct active visualization technique using a highly sensitive image sensor and a high intensity illuminant. Currently, the range-gated imaging technique providing 2D and 3D images is one of emerging active vision technologies. The range-gated imaging system gets vision information by summing time sliced vision images. In the RGI system, a high intensity illuminant illuminates for ultra-short time and a highly sensitive image sensor is gated by ultra

  4. Image Acquisition of Robust Vision Systems to Monitor Blurred Objects in Hazy Smoking Environments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahn, Yongjin; Park, Seungkyu; Baik, Sunghoon; Kim, Donglyul; Nam, Sungmo; Jeong, Kyungmin [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-05-15

    Image information in disaster area or radiation area of nuclear industry is an important data for safety inspection and preparing appropriate damage control plans. So, robust vision system for structures and facilities in blurred smoking environments, such as the places of a fire and detonation, is essential in remote monitoring. Vision systems can't acquire an image when the illumination light is blocked by disturbance materials, such as smoke, fog, dust. The vision system based on wavefront correction can be applied to blurred imaging environments and the range-gated imaging system can be applied to both of blurred imaging and darken light environments. Wavefront control is a widely used technique to improve the performance of optical systems by actively correcting wavefront distortions, such as atmospheric turbulence, thermally-induced distortions, and laser or laser device aberrations, which can reduce the peak intensity and smear an acquired image. The principal applications of wavefront control are for improving the image quality in optical imaging systems such as infrared astronomical telescopes, in imaging and tracking rapidly moving space objects, and in compensating for laser beam distortion through the atmosphere. A conventional wavefront correction system consists of a wavefront sensor, a deformable mirror and a control computer. The control computer measures the wavefront distortions using a wavefront sensor and corrects it using a deformable mirror in a closed-loop. Range-gated imaging (RGI) is a direct active visualization technique using a highly sensitive image sensor and a high intensity illuminant. Currently, the range-gated imaging technique providing 2D and 3D images is one of emerging active vision technologies. The range-gated imaging system gets vision information by summing time sliced vision images. In the RGI system, a high intensity illuminant illuminates for ultra-short time and a highly sensitive image sensor is gated by ultra

  5. A robotic vision system to measure tree traits

    Science.gov (United States)

    The autonomous measurement of tree traits, such as branching structure, branch diameters, branch lengths, and branch angles, is required for tasks such as robotic pruning of trees as well as structural phenotyping. We propose a robotic vision system called the Robotic System for Tree Shape Estimati...

  6. A stereo vision-based obstacle detection system in vehicles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huh, Kunsoo; Park, Jaehak; Hwang, Junyeon; Hong, Daegun

    2008-02-01

    Obstacle detection is a crucial issue for driver assistance systems as well as for autonomous vehicle guidance function and it has to be performed with high reliability to avoid any potential collision with the front vehicle. The vision-based obstacle detection systems are regarded promising for this purpose because they require little infrastructure on a highway. However, the feasibility of these systems in passenger car requires accurate and robust sensing performance. In this paper, an obstacle detection system using stereo vision sensors is developed. This system utilizes feature matching, epipoplar constraint and feature aggregation in order to robustly detect the initial corresponding pairs. After the initial detection, the system executes the tracking algorithm for the obstacles. The proposed system can detect a front obstacle, a leading vehicle and a vehicle cutting into the lane. Then, the position parameters of the obstacles and leading vehicles can be obtained. The proposed obstacle detection system is implemented on a passenger car and its performance is verified experimentally.

  7. A Real-Time Embedded System for Stereo Vision Preprocessing Using an FPGA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjær-Nielsen, Anders; Jensen, Lars Baunegaard With; Sørensen, Anders Stengaard

    2008-01-01

    In this paper a low level vision processing node for use in existing IEEE 1394 camera setups is presented. The processing node is a small embedded system, that utilizes an FPGA to perform stereo vision preprocessing at rates limited by the bandwidth of IEEE 1394a (400Mbit). The system is used...

  8. IMPROVING CAR NAVIGATION WITH A VISION-BASED SYSTEM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Kim

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The real-time acquisition of the accurate positions is very important for the proper operations of driver assistance systems or autonomous vehicles. Since the current systems mostly depend on a GPS and map-matching technique, they show poor and unreliable performance in blockage and weak areas of GPS signals. In this study, we propose a vision oriented car navigation method based on sensor fusion with a GPS and in-vehicle sensors. We employed a single photo resection process to derive the position and attitude of the camera and thus those of the car. This image georeferencing results are combined with other sensory data under the sensor fusion framework for more accurate estimation of the positions using an extended Kalman filter. The proposed system estimated the positions with an accuracy of 15 m although GPS signals are not available at all during the entire test drive of 15 minutes. The proposed vision based system can be effectively utilized for the low-cost but high-accurate and reliable navigation systems required for intelligent or autonomous vehicles.

  9. Improving Car Navigation with a Vision-Based System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, H.; Choi, K.; Lee, I.

    2015-08-01

    The real-time acquisition of the accurate positions is very important for the proper operations of driver assistance systems or autonomous vehicles. Since the current systems mostly depend on a GPS and map-matching technique, they show poor and unreliable performance in blockage and weak areas of GPS signals. In this study, we propose a vision oriented car navigation method based on sensor fusion with a GPS and in-vehicle sensors. We employed a single photo resection process to derive the position and attitude of the camera and thus those of the car. This image georeferencing results are combined with other sensory data under the sensor fusion framework for more accurate estimation of the positions using an extended Kalman filter. The proposed system estimated the positions with an accuracy of 15 m although GPS signals are not available at all during the entire test drive of 15 minutes. The proposed vision based system can be effectively utilized for the low-cost but high-accurate and reliable navigation systems required for intelligent or autonomous vehicles.

  10. Using Weightless Neural Networks for Vergence Control in an Artificial Vision System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karin S. Komati

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a methodology we have developed and used to implement an artificial binocular vision system capable of emulating the vergence of eye movements. This methodology involves using weightless neural networks (WNNs as building blocks of artificial vision systems. Using the proposed methodology, we have designed several architectures of WNN-based artificial vision systems, in which images captured by virtual cameras are used for controlling the position of the ‘foveae’ of these cameras (high-resolution region of the images captured. Our best architecture is able to control the foveae vergence movements with average error of only 3.58 image pixels, which is equivalent to an angular error of approximately 0.629°.

  11. Progress in computer vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, A. K.; Dorai, C.

    Computer vision has emerged as a challenging and important area of research, both as an engineering and a scientific discipline. The growing importance of computer vision is evident from the fact that it was identified as one of the "Grand Challenges" and also from its prominent role in the National Information Infrastructure. While the design of a general-purpose vision system continues to be elusive machine vision systems are being used successfully in specific application elusive, machine vision systems are being used successfully in specific application domains. Building a practical vision system requires a careful selection of appropriate sensors, extraction and integration of information from available cues in the sensed data, and evaluation of system robustness and performance. The authors discuss and demonstrate advantages of (1) multi-sensor fusion, (2) combination of features and classifiers, (3) integration of visual modules, and (IV) admissibility and goal-directed evaluation of vision algorithms. The requirements of several prominent real world applications such as biometry, document image analysis, image and video database retrieval, and automatic object model construction offer exciting problems and new opportunities to design and evaluate vision algorithms.

  12. Monitoring system of multiple fire fighting based on computer vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jinlong; Wang, Li; Gao, Xiaorong; Wang, Zeyong; Zhao, Quanke

    2010-10-01

    With the high demand of fire control in spacious buildings, computer vision is playing a more and more important role. This paper presents a new monitoring system of multiple fire fighting based on computer vision and color detection. This system can adjust to the fire position and then extinguish the fire by itself. In this paper, the system structure, working principle, fire orientation, hydrant's angle adjusting and system calibration are described in detail; also the design of relevant hardware and software is introduced. At the same time, the principle and process of color detection and image processing are given as well. The system runs well in the test, and it has high reliability, low cost, and easy nodeexpanding, which has a bright prospect of application and popularization.

  13. An Automatic Assembling System for Sealing Rings Based on Machine Vision

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mingyu Gao

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to grab and place the sealing rings of battery lid quickly and accurately, an automatic assembling system for sealing rings based on machine vision is developed in this paper. The whole system is composed of the light sources, cameras, industrial control units, and a 4-degree-of-freedom industrial robot. Specifically, the sealing rings are recognized and located automatically with the machine vision module. Then industrial robot is controlled for grabbing the sealing rings dynamically under the joint work of multiple control units and visual feedback. Furthermore, the coordinates of the fast-moving battery lid are tracked by the machine vision module. Finally the sealing rings are placed on the sealing ports of battery lid accurately and automatically. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system can grab the sealing rings and place them on the sealing port of the fast-moving battery lid successfully. More importantly, the proposed system can improve the efficiency of the battery production line obviously.

  14. Color Calibration for Colorized Vision System with Digital Sensor and LED Array Illuminator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhenmin Zhu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Color measurement by the colorized vision system is a superior method to achieve the evaluation of color objectively and continuously. However, the accuracy of color measurement is influenced by the spectral responses of digital sensor and the spectral mismatch of illumination. In this paper, two-color vision system illuminated by digital sensor and LED array, respectively, is presented. The Polynomial-Based Regression method is applied to solve the problem of color calibration in the sRGB and CIE  L⁎a⁎b⁎ color spaces. By mapping the tristimulus values from RGB to sRGB color space, color difference between the estimated values and the reference values is less than 3ΔE. Additionally, the mapping matrix ΦRGB→sRGB has proved a better performance in reducing the color difference, and it is introduced subsequently into the colorized vision system proposed for a better color measurement. Necessarily, the printed matter of clothes and the colored ceramic tile are chosen as the application experiment samples of our colorized vision system. As shown in the experimental data, the average color difference of images is less than 6ΔE. It indicates that a better performance of color measurement is obtained via the colorized vision system proposed.

  15. DLP™-based dichoptic vision test system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woods, Russell L.; Apfelbaum, Henry L.; Peli, Eli

    2010-01-01

    It can be useful to present a different image to each of the two eyes while they cooperatively view the world. Such dichoptic presentation can occur in investigations of stereoscopic and binocular vision (e.g., strabismus, amblyopia) and vision rehabilitation in clinical and research settings. Various techniques have been used to construct dichoptic displays. The most common and most flexible modern technique uses liquid-crystal (LC) shutters. When used in combination with cathode ray tube (CRT) displays, there is often leakage of light from the image intended for one eye into the view of the other eye. Such interocular crosstalk is 14% even in our state of the art CRT-based dichoptic system. While such crosstalk may have minimal impact on stereo movie or video game experiences, it can defeat clinical and research investigations. We use micromirror digital light processing (DLP™) technology to create a novel dichoptic visual display system with substantially lower interocular crosstalk (0.3% remaining crosstalk comes from the LC shutters). The DLP system normally uses a color wheel to display color images. Our approach is to disable the color wheel, synchronize the display directly to the computer's sync signal, allocate each of the three (former) color presentations to one or both eyes, and open and close the LC shutters in synchrony with those color events.

  16. A Novel Bioinspired Vision System: A Step toward Real-Time Human-Robot Interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Rahman Hafiz

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Building a human-like robot that could be involved in our daily lives is a dream of many scientists. Achieving a sophisticated robot's vision system, which can enhance the robot's real-time interaction ability with the human, is one of the main keys toward realizing such an autonomous robot. In this work, we are suggesting a bioinspired vision system that helps to develop an advanced human-robot interaction in an autonomous humanoid robot. First, we enhance the robot's vision accuracy online by applying a novel dynamic edge detection algorithm abstracted from the rules that the horizontal cells play in the mammalian retina. Second, in order to support the first algorithm, we improve the robot's tracking ability by designing a variant photoreceptors distribution corresponding to what exists in the human vision system. The experimental results verified the validity of the model. The robot could have a clear vision in real time and build a mental map that assisted it to be aware of the frontal users and to develop a positive interaction with them.

  17. A bio-inspired apposition compound eye machine vision sensor system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davis, J D; Barrett, S F; Wright, C H G; Wilcox, M

    2009-01-01

    The Wyoming Information, Signal Processing, and Robotics Laboratory is developing a wide variety of bio-inspired vision sensors. We are interested in exploring the vision system of various insects and adapting some of their features toward the development of specialized vision sensors. We do not attempt to supplant traditional digital imaging techniques but rather develop sensor systems tailor made for the application at hand. We envision that many applications may require a hybrid approach using conventional digital imaging techniques enhanced with bio-inspired analogue sensors. In this specific project, we investigated the apposition compound eye and its characteristics commonly found in diurnal insects and certain species of arthropods. We developed and characterized an array of apposition compound eye-type sensors and tested them on an autonomous robotic vehicle. The robot exhibits the ability to follow a pre-defined target and avoid specified obstacles using a simple control algorithm.

  18. Modelling and Analysis of Vibrations in a UAV Helicopter with a Vision System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Nicolás Marichal Plasencia

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available The analysis of the nature and damping of unwanted vibrations on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV helicopters are important tasks when images from on-board vision systems are to be obtained. In this article, the authors model a UAV system, generate a range of vibrations originating in the main rotor and design a control methodology in order to damp these vibrations. The UAV is modelled using VehicleSim, the vibrations that appear on the fuselage are analysed to study their effects on the on-board vision system by using Simmechanics software. Following this, the authors present a control method based on an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS to achieve satisfactory damping results over the vision system on board.

  19. Fiber optic coherent laser radar 3D vision system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clark, R.B.; Gallman, P.G.; Slotwinski, A.R.; Wagner, K.; Weaver, S.; Xu, Jieping

    1996-01-01

    This CLVS will provide a substantial advance in high speed computer vision performance to support robotic Environmental Management (EM) operations. This 3D system employs a compact fiber optic based scanner and operator at a 128 x 128 pixel frame at one frame per second with a range resolution of 1 mm over its 1.5 meter working range. Using acousto-optic deflectors, the scanner is completely randomly addressable. This can provide live 3D monitoring for situations where it is necessary to update once per second. This can be used for decontamination and decommissioning operations in which robotic systems are altering the scene such as in waste removal, surface scarafacing, or equipment disassembly and removal. The fiber- optic coherent laser radar based system is immune to variations in lighting, color, or surface shading, which have plagued the reliability of existing 3D vision systems, while providing substantially superior range resolution

  20. Background staining of visualization systems in immunohistochemistry: comparison of the Avidin-Biotin Complex system and the EnVision+ system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vosse, Bettine A H; Seelentag, Walter; Bachmann, Astrid; Bosman, Fred T; Yan, Pu

    2007-03-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate specific immunostaining and background staining in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded human tissues with the 2 most frequently used immunohistochemical detection systems, Avidin-Biotin-Peroxidase (ABC) and EnVision+. A series of fixed tissues, including breast, colon, kidney, larynx, liver, lung, ovary, pancreas, prostate, stomach, and tonsil, was used in the study. Three monoclonal antibodies, 1 against a nuclear antigen (Ki-67), 1 against a cytoplasmic antigen (cytokeratin), and 1 against a cytoplasmic and membrane-associated antigen and a polyclonal antibody against a nuclear and cytoplasmic antigen (S-100) were selected for these studies. When the ABC system was applied, immunostaining was performed with and without blocking of endogenous avidin-binding activity. The intensity of specific immunostaining and the percentage of stained cells were comparable for the 2 detection systems. The use of ABC caused widespread cytoplasmic and rare nuclear background staining in a variety of normal and tumor cells. A very strong background staining was observed in colon, gastric mucosa, liver, and kidney. Blocking avidin-binding capacity reduced background staining, but complete blocking was difficult to attain. With the EnVision+ system no background staining occurred. Given the efficiency of the detection, equal for both systems or higher with EnVision+, and the significant background problem with ABC, we advocate the routine use of the EnVision+ system.

  1. Control system for solar tracking based on artificial vision; Sistema de control para seguimiento solar basado en vision artificial

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pacheco Ramirez, Jesus Horacio; Anaya Perez, Maria Elena; Benitez Baltazar, Victor Hugo [Universidad de onora, Hermosillo, Sonora (Mexico)]. E-mail: jpacheco@industrial.uson.mx; meanaya@industrial.uson.mx; vbenitez@industrial.uson.mx

    2010-11-15

    This work shows how artificial vision feedback can be applied to control systems. The control is applied to a solar panel in order to track the sun position. The algorithms to calculate the position of the sun and the image processing are developed in LabView. The responses obtained from the control show that it is possible to use vision for a control scheme in closed loop. [Spanish] El presente trabajo muestra la manera en la cual un sistema de control puede ser retroalimentado mediante vision artificial. El control es aplicado en un panel solar para realizar el seguimiento del sol a lo largo del dia. Los algoritmos para calcular la posicion del sol y para el tratamiento de la imagen fueron desarrollados en LabView. Las respuestas obtenidas del control muestran que es posible utilizar vision para un esquema de control en lazo cerrado.

  2. A machine vision system for the calibration of digital thermometers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vázquez-Fernández, Esteban; Dacal-Nieto, Angel; González-Jorge, Higinio; Alvarez-Valado, Victor; Martín, Fernando; Formella, Arno

    2009-01-01

    Automation is a key point in many industrial tasks such as calibration and metrology. In this context, machine vision has shown to be a useful tool for automation support, especially when there is no other option available. A system for the calibration of portable measurement devices has been developed. The system uses machine vision to obtain the numerical values shown by displays. A new approach based on human perception of digits, which works in parallel with other more classical classifiers, has been created. The results show the benefits of the system in terms of its usability and robustness, obtaining a success rate higher than 99% in display recognition. The system saves time and effort, and offers the possibility of scheduling calibration tasks without excessive attention by the laboratory technicians

  3. A Vision for Systems Engineering Applied to Wind Energy (Presentation)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Felker, F.; Dykes, K.

    2015-01-01

    This presentation was given at the Third Wind Energy Systems Engineering Workshop on January 14, 2015. Topics covered include the importance of systems engineering, a vision for systems engineering as applied to wind energy, and application of systems engineering approaches to wind energy research and development.

  4. Vision and dual IMU integrated attitude measurement system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Xiaoting; Sun, Changku; Wang, Peng; Lu, Huang

    2018-01-01

    To determination relative attitude between two space objects on a rocking base, an integrated system based on vision and dual IMU (inertial determination unit) is built up. The determination system fuses the attitude information of vision with the angular determinations of dual IMU by extended Kalman filter (EKF) to obtain the relative attitude. One IMU (master) is attached to the measured motion object and the other (slave) to the rocking base. As the determination output of inertial sensor is relative to inertial frame, thus angular rate of the master IMU includes not only motion of the measured object relative to inertial frame but also the rocking base relative to inertial frame, where the latter can be seen as redundant harmful movement information for relative attitude determination between the measured object and the rocking base. The slave IMU here assists to remove the motion information of rocking base relative to inertial frame from the master IMU. The proposed integrated attitude determination system is tested on practical experimental platform. And experiment results with superior precision and reliability show the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed attitude determination system.

  5. Specifications of Standards in Systems and Synthetic Biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schreiber, Falk; Bader, Gary D; Golebiewski, Martin; Hucka, Michael; Kormeier, Benjamin; Le Novère, Nicolas; Myers, Chris; Nickerson, David; Sommer, Björn; Waltemath, Dagmar; Weise, Stephan

    2015-09-04

    Standards shape our everyday life. From nuts and bolts to electronic devices and technological processes, standardised products and processes are all around us. Standards have technological and economic benefits, such as making information exchange, production, and services more efficient. However, novel, innovative areas often either lack proper standards, or documents about standards in these areas are not available from a centralised platform or formal body (such as the International Standardisation Organisation). Systems and synthetic biology is a relatively novel area, and it is only in the last decade that the standardisation of data, information, and models related to systems and synthetic biology has become a community-wide effort. Several open standards have been established and are under continuous development as a community initiative. COMBINE, the ‘COmputational Modeling in BIology’ NEtwork has been established as an umbrella initiative to coordinate and promote the development of the various community standards and formats for computational models. There are yearly two meeting, HARMONY (Hackathons on Resources for Modeling in Biology), Hackathon-type meetings with a focus on development of the support for standards, and COMBINE forums, workshop-style events with oral presentations, discussion, poster, and breakout sessions for further developing the standards. For more information see http://co.mbine.org/. So far the different standards were published and made accessible through the standards’ web- pages or preprint services. The aim of this special issue is to provide a single, easily accessible and citable platform for the publication of standards in systems and synthetic biology. This special issue is intended to serve as a central access point to standards and related initiatives in systems and synthetic biology, it will be published annually to provide an opportunity for standard development groups to communicate updated specifications.

  6. An assembly system based on industrial robot with binocular stereo vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Hong; Xiao, Nanfeng

    2017-01-01

    This paper proposes an electronic part and component assembly system based on an industrial robot with binocular stereo vision. Firstly, binocular stereo vision with a visual attention mechanism model is used to get quickly the image regions which contain the electronic parts and components. Secondly, a deep neural network is adopted to recognize the features of the electronic parts and components. Thirdly, in order to control the end-effector of the industrial robot to grasp the electronic parts and components, a genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed to compute the transition matrix and the inverse kinematics of the industrial robot (end-effector), which plays a key role in bridging the binocular stereo vision and the industrial robot. Finally, the proposed assembly system is tested in LED component assembly experiments, and the results denote that it has high efficiency and good applicability.

  7. Machine Vision Handbook

    CERN Document Server

    2012-01-01

    The automation of visual inspection is becoming more and more important in modern industry as a consistent, reliable means of judging the quality of raw materials and manufactured goods . The Machine Vision Handbook  equips the reader with the practical details required to engineer integrated mechanical-optical-electronic-software systems. Machine vision is first set in the context of basic information on light, natural vision, colour sensing and optics. The physical apparatus required for mechanized image capture – lenses, cameras, scanners and light sources – are discussed followed by detailed treatment of various image-processing methods including an introduction to the QT image processing system. QT is unique to this book, and provides an example of a practical machine vision system along with extensive libraries of useful commands, functions and images which can be implemented by the reader. The main text of the book is completed by studies of a wide variety of applications of machine vision in insp...

  8. Semiautonomous teleoperation system with vision guidance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Wai; Pretlove, John R. G.

    1998-12-01

    This paper describes the ongoing research work on developing a telerobotic system in Mechatronic Systems and Robotics Research group at the University of Surrey. As human operators' manual control of remote robots always suffer from reduced performance and difficulties in perceiving information from the remote site, a system with a certain level of intelligence and autonomy will help to solve some of these problems. Thus, this system has been developed for this purpose. It also serves as an experimental platform to test the idea of using the combination of human and computer intelligence in teleoperation and finding out the optimum balance between them. The system consists of a Polhemus- based input device, a computer vision sub-system and a graphical user interface which communicates the operator with the remote robot. The system description is given in this paper as well as the preliminary experimental results of the system evaluation.

  9. Vision and laterality: does occlusion disclose a feedback processing advantage for the right hand system?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buekers, M J; Helsen, W F

    2000-09-01

    The main purpose of this study was to examine whether manual asymmetries could be related to the superiority of the left hemisphere/right hand system in processing visual feedback. Subjects were tested when performing single (Experiment 1) and reciprocal (Experiment 2) aiming movements under different vision conditions (full vision, 20 ms on/180 ms off, 10/90, 40/160, 20/80, 60/120, 20/40). Although in both experiments right hand advantages were found, manual asymmetries did not interact with intermittent vision conditions. Similar patterns of results were found across vision conditions for both hands. These data do not support the visual feedback processing hypothesis of manual asymmetry. Motor performance is affected to the same extent for both hand systems when vision is degraded.

  10. Multi-channel automotive night vision system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Gang; Wang, Li-jun; Zhang, Yi

    2013-09-01

    A four-channel automotive night vision system is designed and developed .It is consist of the four active near-infrared cameras and an Mulit-channel image processing display unit,cameras were placed in the automobile front, left, right and rear of the system .The system uses near-infrared laser light source,the laser light beam is collimated, the light source contains a thermoelectric cooler (TEC),It can be synchronized with the camera focusing, also has an automatic light intensity adjustment, and thus can ensure the image quality. The principle of composition of the system is description in detail,on this basis, beam collimation,the LD driving and LD temperature control of near-infrared laser light source,four-channel image processing display are discussed.The system can be used in driver assistance, car BLIS, car parking assist system and car alarm system in day and night.

  11. System Architecture of an Experimental Synthetic Aperture Real-Time Ultrasound System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jørgen Arendt; Hansen, Martin; Tomov, Borislav Gueorguiev

    2007-01-01

    is done using a parametric beam former. Code synthesized for a Xilinx V4FX100 speed grade 11 FPGA can operate at a maximum clock frequency of 167.8 MHz producing 1 billion I and Q samples/second sufficient for real time SA imaging. The system is currently in production, and all boards have been laid out......Synthetic Aperture (SA) ultrasound imaging has many advantages in terms of flexibility and accuracy. One of the major drawbacks is, however, that no system exists, which can implement SA imaging in real time due to the very high number of calculations amounting to roughly 1 billion complex focused...... samples per second per receive channel. Real time imaging is a key aspect in ultrasound, and to truly demonstrate the many advantages of SA imaging, a system usable in the clinic should be made. The paper describes a system capable of real time SA B-mode and vector flow imaging. The Synthetic Aperture...

  12. Integration and coordination in a cognitive vision system

    OpenAIRE

    Wrede, Sebastian; Hanheide, Marc; Wachsmuth, Sven; Sagerer, Gerhard

    2006-01-01

    In this paper, we present a case study that exemplifies general ideas of system integration and coordination. The application field of assistant technology provides an ideal test bed for complex computer vision systems including real-time components, human-computer interaction, dynamic 3-d environments, and information retrieval aspects. In our scenario the user is wearing an augmented reality device that supports her/him in everyday tasks by presenting information tha...

  13. Data Fusion for a Vision-Radiological System: a Statistical Calibration Algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Enqvist, Andreas; Koppal, Sanjeev; Riley, Phillip

    2015-01-01

    Presented here is a fusion system based on simple, low-cost computer vision and radiological sensors for tracking of multiple objects and identifying potential radiological materials being transported or shipped. The main focus of this work is the development of calibration algorithms for characterizing the fused sensor system as a single entity. There is an apparent need for correcting for a scene deviation from the basic inverse distance-squared law governing the detection rates even when evaluating system calibration algorithms. In particular, the computer vision system enables a map of distance-dependence of the sources being tracked, to which the time-dependent radiological data can be incorporated by means of data fusion of the two sensors' output data. (authors)

  14. Data Fusion for a Vision-Radiological System: a Statistical Calibration Algorithm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Enqvist, Andreas; Koppal, Sanjeev; Riley, Phillip [University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States)

    2015-07-01

    Presented here is a fusion system based on simple, low-cost computer vision and radiological sensors for tracking of multiple objects and identifying potential radiological materials being transported or shipped. The main focus of this work is the development of calibration algorithms for characterizing the fused sensor system as a single entity. There is an apparent need for correcting for a scene deviation from the basic inverse distance-squared law governing the detection rates even when evaluating system calibration algorithms. In particular, the computer vision system enables a map of distance-dependence of the sources being tracked, to which the time-dependent radiological data can be incorporated by means of data fusion of the two sensors' output data. (authors)

  15. Cryogenics Vision Workshop for High-Temperature Superconducting Electric Power Systems Proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Energetics, Inc.

    2000-01-01

    The US Department of Energy's Superconductivity Program for Electric Systems sponsored the Cryogenics Vision Workshop, which was held on July 27, 1999 in Washington, D.C. This workshop was held in conjunction with the Program's Annual Peer Review meeting. Of the 175 people attending the peer review meeting, 31 were selected in advance to participate in the Cryogenics Vision Workshops discussions. The participants represented cryogenic equipment manufactures, industrial gas manufacturers and distributors, component suppliers, electric power equipment manufacturers (Superconductivity Partnership Initiative participants), electric utilities, federal agencies, national laboratories, and consulting firms. Critical factors were discussed that need to be considered in describing the successful future commercialization of cryogenic systems. Such systems will enable the widespread deployment of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) electric power equipment. Potential research, development, and demonstration (RD and D) activities and partnership opportunities for advancing suitable cryogenic systems were also discussed. The workshop agenda can be found in the following section of this report. Facilitated sessions were held to discuss the following specific focus topics: identifying Critical Factors that need to be included in a Cryogenics Vision for HTS Electric Power Systems (From the HTS equipment end-user perspective) identifying R and D Needs and Partnership Roles (From the cryogenic industry perspective) The findings of the facilitated Cryogenics Vision Workshop were then presented in a plenary session of the Annual Peer Review Meeting. Approximately 120 attendees participated in the afternoon plenary session. This large group heard summary reports from the workshop session leaders and then held a wrap-up session to discuss the findings, cross-cutting themes, and next steps. These summary reports are presented in this document. The ideas and suggestions raised during

  16. Accurate Localization of Communicant Vehicles using GPS and Vision Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Georges CHALLITA

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available The new generation of ADAS systems based on cooperation between vehicles can offer serious perspectives to the road security. The inter-vehicle cooperation is made possible thanks to the revolution in the wireless mobile ad hoc network. In this paper, we will develop a system that will minimize the imprecision of the GPS used to car tracking, based on the data given by the GPS which means the coordinates and speed in addition to the use of the vision data that will be collected from the loading system in the vehicle (camera and processor. Localization information can be exchanged between the vehicles through a wireless communication device. The creation of the system must adopt the Monte Carlo Method or what we call a particle filter for the treatment of the GPS data and vision data. An experimental study of this system is performed on our fleet of experimental communicating vehicles.

  17. Embedded active vision system based on an FPGA architecture

    OpenAIRE

    Chalimbaud , Pierre; Berry , François

    2006-01-01

    International audience; In computer vision and more particularly in vision processing, the impressive evolution of algorithms and the emergence of new techniques dramatically increase algorithm complexity. In this paper, a novel FPGA-based architecture dedicated to active vision (and more precisely early vision) is proposed. Active vision appears as an alternative approach to deal with artificial vision problems. The central idea is to take into account the perceptual aspects of visual tasks,...

  18. Parameter Optimization of Multi-Element Synthetic Aperture Imaging Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vera Behar

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available In conventional ultrasound imaging systems with phased arrays, the further improvement of lateral resolution requires enlarging of the number of array elements that in turn increases both, the complexity and the cost, of imaging systems. Multi-element synthetic aperture focusing (MSAF systems are a very good alternative to conventional systems with phased arrays. The benefit of the synthetic aperture is in reduction of the system complexity, cost and acquisition time. In a MSAF system considered in the paper, a group of elements transmit and receive signals simultaneously, and the transmit beam is defocused to emulate a single element response. The echo received at each element of a receive sub-aperture is recorded in the computer memory. The process of transmission/reception is repeated for all positions of a transmit sub-aperture. All the data recordings associated with each corresponding pair "transmit-receive sub-aperture" are then focused synthetically producing a low-resolution image. The final high-resolution image is formed by summing of the all low-resolution images associated with transmit/receive sub-apertures. A problem of parameter optimization of a MSAF system is considered in this paper. The quality of imaging (lateral resolution and contrast is expressed in terms of the beam characteristics - beam width and side lobe level. The comparison between the MSAF system described in the paper and an equivalent conventional phased array system shows that the MSAF system acquires images of equivalent quality much faster using only a small part of the power per image.

  19. Vision-based pedestrian protection systems for intelligent vehicles

    CERN Document Server

    Geronimo, David

    2013-01-01

    Pedestrian Protection Systems (PPSs) are on-board systems aimed at detecting and tracking people in the surroundings of a vehicle in order to avoid potentially dangerous situations. These systems, together with other Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) such as lane departure warning or adaptive cruise control, are one of the most promising ways to improve traffic safety. By the use of computer vision, cameras working either in the visible or infra-red spectra have been demonstrated as a reliable sensor to perform this task. Nevertheless, the variability of human's appearance, not only in

  20. Embedded Platforms for Computer Vision-based Advanced Driver Assistance Systems: a Survey

    OpenAIRE

    Velez, Gorka; Otaegui, Oihana

    2015-01-01

    Computer Vision, either alone or combined with other technologies such as radar or Lidar, is one of the key technologies used in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Its role understanding and analysing the driving scene is of great importance as it can be noted by the number of ADAS applications that use this technology. However, porting a vision algorithm to an embedded automotive system is still very challenging, as there must be a trade-off between several design requisites. Further...

  1. Object Tracking Vision System for Mapping the UCN τ Apparatus Volume

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lumb, Rowan; UCNtau Collaboration

    2016-09-01

    The UCN τ collaboration has an immediate goal to measure the lifetime of the free neutron to within 0.1%, i.e. about 1 s. The UCN τ apparatus is a magneto-gravitational ``bottle'' system. This system holds low energy, or ultracold, neutrons in the apparatus with the constraint of gravity, and keeps these low energy neutrons from interacting with the bottle via a strong 1 T surface magnetic field created by a bowl-shaped array of permanent magnets. The apparatus is wrapped with energized coils to supply a magnetic field throughout the ''bottle'' volume to prevent depolarization of the neutrons. An object-tracking stereo-vision system will be presented that precisely tracks a Hall probe and allows a mapping of the magnetic field throughout the volume of the UCN τ bottle. The stereo-vision system utilizes two cameras and open source openCV software to track an object's 3-d position in space in real time. The desired resolution is +/-1 mm resolution along each axis. The vision system is being used as part of an even larger system to map the magnetic field of the UCN τ apparatus and expose any possible systematic effects due to field cancellation or low field points which could allow neutrons to depolarize and possibly escape from the apparatus undetected. Tennessee Technological University.

  2. Mammalian Synthetic Biology: Engineering Biological Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Joshua B; Perez-Pinera, Pablo; Gersbach, Charles A

    2017-06-21

    The programming of new functions into mammalian cells has tremendous application in research and medicine. Continued improvements in the capacity to sequence and synthesize DNA have rapidly increased our understanding of mechanisms of gene function and regulation on a genome-wide scale and have expanded the set of genetic components available for programming cell biology. The invention of new research tools, including targetable DNA-binding systems such as CRISPR/Cas9 and sensor-actuator devices that can recognize and respond to diverse chemical, mechanical, and optical inputs, has enabled precise control of complex cellular behaviors at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. These tools have been critical for the expansion of synthetic biology techniques from prokaryotic and lower eukaryotic hosts to mammalian systems. Recent progress in the development of genome and epigenome editing tools and in the engineering of designer cells with programmable genetic circuits is expanding approaches to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease and to establish personalized theranostic strategies for next-generation medicines. This review summarizes the development of these enabling technologies and their application to transforming mammalian synthetic biology into a distinct field in research and medicine.

  3. Industrial systems biology and its impact on synthetic biology of yeast cell factories

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fletcher, Eugene; Krivoruchko, Anastasia; Nielsen, Jens

    2016-01-01

    Engineering industrial cell factories to effectively yield a desired product while dealing with industrially relevant stresses is usually the most challenging step in the development of industrial production of chemicals using microbial fermentation processes. Using synthetic biology tools......, microbial cell factories such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be engineered to express synthetic pathways for the production of fuels, biopharmaceuticals, fragrances, and food flavors. However, directing fluxes through these synthetic pathways towards the desired product can be demanding due to complex...... regulation or poor gene expression. Systems biology, which applies computational tools and mathematical modeling to understand complex biological networks, can be used to guide synthetic biology design. Here, we present our perspective on how systems biology can impact synthetic biology towards the goal...

  4. Bio-inspired vision

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Posch, C

    2012-01-01

    Nature still outperforms the most powerful computers in routine functions involving perception, sensing and actuation like vision, audition, and motion control, and is, most strikingly, orders of magnitude more energy-efficient than its artificial competitors. The reasons for the superior performance of biological systems are subject to diverse investigations, but it is clear that the form of hardware and the style of computation in nervous systems are fundamentally different from what is used in artificial synchronous information processing systems. Very generally speaking, biological neural systems rely on a large number of relatively simple, slow and unreliable processing elements and obtain performance and robustness from a massively parallel principle of operation and a high level of redundancy where the failure of single elements usually does not induce any observable system performance degradation. In the late 1980's, Carver Mead demonstrated that silicon VLSI technology can be employed in implementing ''neuromorphic'' circuits that mimic neural functions and fabricating building blocks that work like their biological role models. Neuromorphic systems, as the biological systems they model, are adaptive, fault-tolerant and scalable, and process information using energy-efficient, asynchronous, event-driven methods. In this paper, some basics of neuromorphic electronic engineering and its impact on recent developments in optical sensing and artificial vision are presented. It is demonstrated that bio-inspired vision systems have the potential to outperform conventional, frame-based vision acquisition and processing systems in many application fields and to establish new benchmarks in terms of redundancy suppression/data compression, dynamic range, temporal resolution and power efficiency to realize advanced functionality like 3D vision, object tracking, motor control, visual feedback loops, etc. in real-time. It is argued that future artificial vision systems

  5. Synthetic Biology Outside the Cell: Linking Computational Tools to Cell-Free Systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, Daniel D.; Villarreal, Fernando D.; Wu, Fan; Tan, Cheemeng

    2014-01-01

    As mathematical models become more commonly integrated into the study of biology, a common language for describing biological processes is manifesting. Many tools have emerged for the simulation of in vivo synthetic biological systems, with only a few examples of prominent work done on predicting the dynamics of cell-free synthetic systems. At the same time, experimental biologists have begun to study dynamics of in vitro systems encapsulated by amphiphilic molecules, opening the door for the development of a new generation of biomimetic systems. In this review, we explore both in vivo and in vitro models of biochemical networks with a special focus on tools that could be applied to the construction of cell-free expression systems. We believe that quantitative studies of complex cellular mechanisms and pathways in synthetic systems can yield important insights into what makes cells different from conventional chemical systems.

  6. Synthetic Biology Outside the Cell: Linking Computational Tools to Cell-Free Systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lewis, Daniel D. [Integrative Genetics and Genomics, University of California Davis, Davis, CA (United States); Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California Davis, Davis, CA (United States); Villarreal, Fernando D.; Wu, Fan; Tan, Cheemeng, E-mail: cmtan@ucdavis.edu [Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California Davis, Davis, CA (United States)

    2014-12-09

    As mathematical models become more commonly integrated into the study of biology, a common language for describing biological processes is manifesting. Many tools have emerged for the simulation of in vivo synthetic biological systems, with only a few examples of prominent work done on predicting the dynamics of cell-free synthetic systems. At the same time, experimental biologists have begun to study dynamics of in vitro systems encapsulated by amphiphilic molecules, opening the door for the development of a new generation of biomimetic systems. In this review, we explore both in vivo and in vitro models of biochemical networks with a special focus on tools that could be applied to the construction of cell-free expression systems. We believe that quantitative studies of complex cellular mechanisms and pathways in synthetic systems can yield important insights into what makes cells different from conventional chemical systems.

  7. A Layered Active Memory Architecture for Cognitive Vision Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Kolonias, Ilias; Christmas, William; Kittler, Josef

    2007-01-01

    Recognising actions and objects from video material has attracted growing research attention and given rise to important applications. However, injecting cognitive capabilities into computer vision systems requires an architecture more elaborate than the traditional signal processing paradigm for information processing. Inspired by biological cognitive systems, we present a memory architecture enabling cognitive processes (such as selecting the processes required for scene understanding, laye...

  8. Development of a model of machine hand eye coordination and program specifications for a topological machine vision system

    Science.gov (United States)

    1972-01-01

    A unified approach to computer vision and manipulation is developed which is called choreographic vision. In the model, objects to be viewed by a projected robot in the Viking missions to Mars are seen as objects to be manipulated within choreographic contexts controlled by a multimoded remote, supervisory control system on Earth. A new theory of context relations is introduced as a basis for choreographic programming languages. A topological vision model is developed for recognizing objects by shape and contour. This model is integrated with a projected vision system consisting of a multiaperture image dissector TV camera and a ranging laser system. System program specifications integrate eye-hand coordination and topological vision functions and an aerospace multiprocessor implementation is described.

  9. Nanomedical device and systems design challenges, possibilities, visions

    CERN Document Server

    2014-01-01

    Nanomedical Device and Systems Design: Challenges, Possibilities, Visions serves as a preliminary guide toward the inspiration of specific investigative pathways that may lead to meaningful discourse and significant advances in nanomedicine/nanotechnology. This volume considers the potential of future innovations that will involve nanomedical devices and systems. It endeavors to explore remarkable possibilities spanning medical diagnostics, therapeutics, and other advancements that may be enabled within this discipline. In particular, this book investigates just how nanomedical diagnostic and

  10. A real time tracking vision system and its application to robotics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Inoue, Hirochika

    1994-01-01

    Among various sensing channels the vision is most important for making robot intelligent. If provided with a high speed visual tracking capability, the robot-environment interaction becomes dynamic instead of static, and thus the potential repertoire of robot behavior becomes very rich. For this purpose we developed a real-time tracking vision system. The fundamental operation on which our system based is the calculation of correlation between local images. Use of special chip for correlation and the multi-processor configuration enable the robot to track more than hundreds cues in full video rate. In addition to the fundamental visual performance, applications for robot behavior control are also introduced. (author)

  11. Accuracy improvement in a calibration test bench for accelerometers by a vision system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    D’Emilia, Giulio; Di Gasbarro, David; Gaspari, Antonella; Natale, Emanuela

    2016-01-01

    A procedure is described in this paper for the accuracy improvement of calibration of low-cost accelerometers in a prototype rotary test bench, driven by a brushless servo-motor and operating in a low frequency range of vibrations (0 to 5 Hz). Vibration measurements by a vision system based on a low frequency camera have been carried out, in order to reduce the uncertainty of the real acceleration evaluation at the installation point of the sensor to be calibrated. A preliminary test device has been realized and operated in order to evaluate the metrological performances of the vision system, showing a satisfactory behavior if the uncertainty measurement is taken into account. A combination of suitable settings of the control parameters of the motion control system and of the information gained by the vision system allowed to fit the information about the reference acceleration at the installation point to the needs of the procedure for static and dynamic calibration of three-axis accelerometers.

  12. Accuracy improvement in a calibration test bench for accelerometers by a vision system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    D’Emilia, Giulio, E-mail: giulio.demilia@univaq.it; Di Gasbarro, David, E-mail: david.digasbarro@graduate.univaq.it; Gaspari, Antonella, E-mail: antonella.gaspari@graduate.univaq.it; Natale, Emanuela, E-mail: emanuela.natale@univaq.it [University of L’Aquila, Department of Industrial and Information Engineering and Economics (DIIIE), via G. Gronchi, 18, 67100 L’Aquila (Italy)

    2016-06-28

    A procedure is described in this paper for the accuracy improvement of calibration of low-cost accelerometers in a prototype rotary test bench, driven by a brushless servo-motor and operating in a low frequency range of vibrations (0 to 5 Hz). Vibration measurements by a vision system based on a low frequency camera have been carried out, in order to reduce the uncertainty of the real acceleration evaluation at the installation point of the sensor to be calibrated. A preliminary test device has been realized and operated in order to evaluate the metrological performances of the vision system, showing a satisfactory behavior if the uncertainty measurement is taken into account. A combination of suitable settings of the control parameters of the motion control system and of the information gained by the vision system allowed to fit the information about the reference acceleration at the installation point to the needs of the procedure for static and dynamic calibration of three-axis accelerometers.

  13. Computer Vision Systems for Hardwood Logs and Lumber

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philip A. Araman; Tai-Hoon Cho; D. Zhu; R. Conners

    1991-01-01

    Computer vision systems being developed at Virginia Tech University with the support and cooperation from the U.S. Forest Service are presented. Researchers at Michigan State University, West Virginia University, and Mississippi State University are also members of the research team working on various parts of this research. Our goals are to help U.S. hardwood...

  14. Geo synthetic-reinforced Pavement systems; Sistemas de pavimentos reforzados con geosinteticos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zornberg, J. G.

    2014-02-01

    Geo synthetics have been used as reinforcement inclusions to improve pavement performance. while there are clear field evidence of the benefit of using geo synthetic reinforcements, the specific conditions or mechanisms that govern the reinforcement of pavements are, at best, unclear and have remained largely unmeasured. Significant research has been recently conducted with the objectives of: (i) determining the relevant properties of geo synthetics that contribute to the enhanced performance of pavement systems, (ii) developing appropriate analytical, laboratory and field methods capable of quantifying the pavement performance, and (iii) enabling the prediction of pavement performance as a function of the properties of the various types of geo synthetics. (Author)

  15. A vision fusion treatment system based on ATtiny26L

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaoqing; Zhang, Chunxi; Wang, Jiqiang

    2006-11-01

    Vision fusion treatment is an important and effective project to strabismus children. The vision fusion treatment system based on the principle for eyeballs to follow the moving visual survey pole is put forward first. In this system the original position of visual survey pole is about 35 centimeters far from patient's face before its moving to the middle position between the two eyeballs. The eyeballs of patient will follow the movement of the visual survey pole. When they can't follow, one or two eyeballs will turn to other position other than the visual survey pole. This displacement is recorded every time. A popular single chip microcomputer ATtiny26L is used in this system, which has a PWM output signal to control visual survey pole to move with continuously variable speed. The movement of visual survey pole accords to the modulating law of eyeballs to follow visual survey pole.

  16. IDA's Energy Vision 2050

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mathiesen, Brian Vad; Lund, Henrik; Hansen, Kenneth

    IDA’s Energy Vision 2050 provides a Smart Energy System strategy for a 100% renewable Denmark in 2050. The vision presented should not be regarded as the only option in 2050 but as one scenario out of several possibilities. With this vision the Danish Society of Engineers, IDA, presents its third...... contribution for an energy strategy for Denmark. The IDA’s Energy Plan 2030 was prepared in 2006 and IDA’s Climate Plan was prepared in 2009. IDA’s Energy Vision 2050 is developed for IDA by representatives from The Society of Engineers and by a group of researchers at Aalborg University. It is based on state......-of-the-art knowledge about how low cost energy systems can be designed while also focusing on long-term resource efficiency. The Energy Vision 2050 has the ambition to focus on all parts of the energy system rather than single technologies, but to have an approach in which all sectors are integrated. While Denmark...

  17. Vision-based interaction

    CERN Document Server

    Turk, Matthew

    2013-01-01

    In its early years, the field of computer vision was largely motivated by researchers seeking computational models of biological vision and solutions to practical problems in manufacturing, defense, and medicine. For the past two decades or so, there has been an increasing interest in computer vision as an input modality in the context of human-computer interaction. Such vision-based interaction can endow interactive systems with visual capabilities similar to those important to human-human interaction, in order to perceive non-verbal cues and incorporate this information in applications such

  18. Design and Assessment of a Machine Vision System for Automatic Vehicle Wheel Alignment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rocco Furferi

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Wheel alignment, consisting of properly checking the wheel characteristic angles against vehicle manufacturers' specifications, is a crucial task in the automotive field since it prevents irregular tyre wear and affects vehicle handling and safety. In recent years, systems based on Machine Vision have been widely studied in order to automatically detect wheels' characteristic angles. In order to overcome the limitations of existing methodologies, due to measurement equipment being mounted onto the wheels, the present work deals with design and assessment of a 3D machine vision-based system for the contactless reconstruction of vehicle wheel geometry, with particular reference to characteristic planes. Such planes, properly referred to as a global coordinate system, are used for determining wheel angles. The effectiveness of the proposed method was tested against a set of measurements carried out using a commercial 3D scanner; the absolute average error in measuring toe and camber angles with the machine vision system resulted in full compatibility with the expected accuracy of wheel alignment systems.

  19. Machine vision system for remote inspection in hazardous environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mukherjee, J.K.; Krishna, K.Y.V.; Wadnerkar, A.

    2011-01-01

    Visual Inspection of radioactive components need remote inspection systems for human safety and equipment (CCD imagers) protection from radiation. Elaborate view transport optics is required to deliver images at safe areas while maintaining fidelity of image data. Automation of the system requires robots to operate such equipment. A robotized periscope has been developed to meet the challenge of remote safe viewing and vision based inspection. (author)

  20. Light Vision Color

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valberg, Arne

    2005-04-01

    Light Vision Color takes a well-balanced, interdisciplinary approach to our most important sensory system. The book successfully combines basics in vision sciences with recent developments from different areas such as neuroscience, biophysics, sensory psychology and philosophy. Originally published in 1998 this edition has been extensively revised and updated to include new chapters on clinical problems and eye diseases, low vision rehabilitation and the basic molecular biology and genetics of colour vision. Takes a broad interdisciplinary approach combining basics in vision sciences with the most recent developments in the area Includes an extensive list of technical terms and explanations to encourage student understanding Successfully brings together the most important areas of the subject in to one volume

  1. Present and future of vision systems technologies in commercial flight operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ward, Jim

    2016-05-01

    The development of systems to enable pilots of all types of aircraft to see through fog, clouds, and sandstorms and land in low visibility has been widely discussed and researched across aviation. For military applications, the goal has been to operate in a Degraded Visual Environment (DVE), using sensors to enable flight crews to see and operate without concern to weather that limits human visibility. These military DVE goals are mainly oriented to the off-field landing environment. For commercial aviation, the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) implemented operational regulations in 2004 that allow the flight crew to see the runway environment using an Enhanced Flight Vision Systems (EFVS) and continue the approach below the normal landing decision height. The FAA is expanding the current use and economic benefit of EFVS technology and will soon permit landing without any natural vision using real-time weather-penetrating sensors. The operational goals of both of these efforts, DVE and EFVS, have been the stimulus for development of new sensors and vision displays to create the modern flight deck.

  2. Stereoscopic Machine-Vision System Using Projected Circles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackey, Jeffrey R.

    2010-01-01

    A machine-vision system capable of detecting obstacles large enough to damage or trap a robotic vehicle is undergoing development. The system includes (1) a pattern generator that projects concentric circles of laser light forward onto the terrain, (2) a stereoscopic pair of cameras that are aimed forward to acquire images of the circles, (3) a frame grabber and digitizer for acquiring image data from the cameras, and (4) a single-board computer that processes the data. The system is being developed as a prototype of machine- vision systems to enable robotic vehicles ( rovers ) on remote planets to avoid craters, large rocks, and other terrain features that could capture or damage the vehicles. Potential terrestrial applications of systems like this one could include terrain mapping, collision avoidance, navigation of robotic vehicles, mining, and robotic rescue. This system is based partly on the same principles as those of a prior stereoscopic machine-vision system in which the cameras acquire images of a single stripe of laser light that is swept forward across the terrain. However, this system is designed to afford improvements over some of the undesirable features of the prior system, including the need for a pan-and-tilt mechanism to aim the laser to generate the swept stripe, ambiguities in interpretation of the single-stripe image, the time needed to sweep the stripe across the terrain and process the data from many images acquired during that time, and difficulty of calibration because of the narrowness of the stripe. In this system, the pattern generator does not contain any moving parts and need not be mounted on a pan-and-tilt mechanism: the pattern of concentric circles is projected steadily in the forward direction. The system calibrates itself by use of data acquired during projection of the concentric-circle pattern onto a known target representing flat ground. The calibration- target image data are stored in the computer memory for use as a

  3. Novel compact panomorph lens based vision system for monitoring around a vehicle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thibault, Simon

    2008-04-01

    Automotive applications are one of the largest vision-sensor market segments and one of the fastest growing ones. The trend to use increasingly more sensors in cars is driven both by legislation and consumer demands for higher safety and better driving experiences. Awareness of what directly surrounds a vehicle affects safe driving and manoeuvring of a vehicle. Consequently, panoramic 360° Field of View imaging can contributes most to the perception of the world around the driver than any other sensors. However, to obtain a complete vision around the car, several sensor systems are necessary. To solve this issue, a customized imaging system based on a panomorph lens will provide the maximum information for the drivers with a reduced number of sensors. A panomorph lens is a hemispheric wide angle anamorphic lens with enhanced resolution in predefined zone of interest. Because panomorph lenses are optimized to a custom angle-to-pixel relationship, vision systems provide ideal image coverage that reduces and optimizes the processing. We present various scenarios which may benefit from the use of a custom panoramic sensor. We also discuss the technical requirements of such vision system. Finally we demonstrate how the panomorph based visual sensor is probably one of the most promising ways to fuse many sensors in one. For example, a single panoramic sensor on the front of a vehicle could provide all necessary information for assistance in crash avoidance, lane tracking, early warning, park aids, road sign detection, and various video monitoring views.

  4. Portable electronic vision enhancement systems in comparison with optical magnifiers for near vision activities: an economic evaluation alongside a randomized crossover trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bray, Nathan; Brand, Andrew; Taylor, John; Hoare, Zoe; Dickinson, Christine; Edwards, Rhiannon T

    2017-08-01

    To determine the incremental cost-effectiveness of portable electronic vision enhancement system (p-EVES) devices compared with optical low vision aids (LVAs), for improving near vision visual function, quality of life and well-being of people with a visual impairment. An AB/BA randomized crossover trial design was used. Eighty-two participants completed the study. Participants were current users of optical LVAs who had not tried a p-EVES device before and had a stable visual impairment. The trial intervention was the addition of a p-EVES device to the participant's existing optical LVA(s) for 2 months, and the control intervention was optical LVA use only, for 2 months. Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses were conducted from a societal perspective. The mean cost of the p-EVES intervention was £448. Carer costs were £30 (4.46 hr) less for the p-EVES intervention compared with the LVA only control. The mean difference in total costs was £417. Bootstrapping gave an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of £736 (95% CI £481 to £1525) for a 7% improvement in near vision visual function. Cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) ranged from £56 991 (lower 95% CI = £19 801) to £66 490 (lower 95% CI = £23 055). Sensitivity analysis varying the commercial price of the p-EVES device reduced ICERs by up to 75%, with cost per QALYs falling below £30 000. Portable electronic vision enhancement system (p-EVES) devices are likely to be a cost-effective use of healthcare resources for improving near vision visual function, but this does not translate into cost-effective improvements in quality of life, capability or well-being. © 2016 The Authors. Acta Ophthalmologica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation and European Association for Vision & Eye Research.

  5. A vision based row detection system for sugar beet

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bakker, T.; Wouters, H.; Asselt, van C.J.; Bontsema, J.; Tang, L.; Müller, J.; Straten, van G.

    2008-01-01

    One way of guiding autonomous vehicles through the field is using a vision based row detection system. A new approach for row recognition is presented which is based on grey-scale Hough transform on intelligently merged images resulting in a considerable improvement of the speed of image processing.

  6. Regenesis how synthetic biology will reinvent nature and ourselves

    CERN Document Server

    Church, George M

    2012-01-01

    Imagine a future in which human beings have become immune to all viruses, in which bacteria can custom-produce everyday items, like a drinking cup, or generate enough electricity to end oil dependency. Building a house would entail no more work than planting a seed in the ground. These scenarios may seem far-fetched, but pioneering geneticist George Church and science writer Ed Regis show that synthetic biology is bringing us ever closer to making such visions a reality. In "Regenesis," Church and Regis explorethe possibilities--and perils--of the emerging field of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology, in which living organisms are selectively altered by modifying substantial portions of their genomes, allows for the creation of entirely new species of organisms. Until now, nature has been the exclusive arbiter of life, death, and evolution; with synthetic biology, we now have the potential to write our own biological future. Indeed, as Church and Regis show, it even enables us to revisit crucial points in th...

  7. Vision system for diagnostic task | Merad | Global Journal of Pure ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Due to environment degraded conditions, direct measurements are not possible. ... Degraded conditions: vibrations, water and chip of metal projections, ... Before tooling, the vision system has to answer: “is it the right piece at the right place?

  8. Co-culture systems and technologies: taking synthetic biology to the next level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goers, Lisa; Freemont, Paul; Polizzi, Karen M

    2014-07-06

    Co-culture techniques find myriad applications in biology for studying natural or synthetic interactions between cell populations. Such techniques are of great importance in synthetic biology, as multi-species cell consortia and other natural or synthetic ecology systems are widely seen to hold enormous potential for foundational research as well as novel industrial, medical and environmental applications with many proof-of-principle studies in recent years. What is needed for co-cultures to fulfil their potential? Cell-cell interactions in co-cultures are strongly influenced by the extracellular environment, which is determined by the experimental set-up, which therefore needs to be given careful consideration. An overview of existing experimental and theoretical co-culture set-ups in synthetic biology and adjacent fields is given here, and challenges and opportunities involved in such experiments are discussed. Greater focus on foundational technology developments for co-cultures is needed for many synthetic biology systems to realize their potential in both applications and answering biological questions. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  9. Computer vision for an autonomous mobile robot

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Withey, Daniel J

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Computer vision systems are essential for practical, autonomous, mobile robots – machines that employ artificial intelligence and control their own motion within an environment. As with biological systems, computer vision systems include the vision...

  10. Experiments on mobile robot stereo vision system calibration under hardware imperfection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Safin Ramil

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Calibration is essential for any robot vision system for achieving high accuracy in deriving objects metric information. One of typical requirements for a stereo vison system in order to obtain better calibration results is to guarantee that both cameras keep the same vertical level. However, cameras may be displaced due to severe conditions of a robot operating or some other circumstances. This paper presents our experimental approach to the problem of a mobile robot stereo vision system calibration under a hardware imperfection. In our experiments, we used crawler-type mobile robot «Servosila Engineer». Stereo system cameras of the robot were displaced relative to each other, causing loss of surrounding environment information. We implemented and verified checkerboard and circle grid based calibration methods. The two methods comparison demonstrated that a circle grid based calibration should be preferred over a classical checkerboard calibration approach.

  11. Stereo Vision Inside Tire

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-08-21

    1 Stereo Vision Inside Tire P.S. Els C.M. Becker University of Pretoria W911NF-14-1-0590 Final...Stereo Vision Inside Tire 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER W911NF-14-1-0590 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Prof PS Els CM...on the development of a stereo vision system that can be mounted inside a rolling tire , known as T2-CAM for Tire -Terrain CAMera. The T2-CAM system

  12. Vision-Based SLAM System for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Munguía

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The present paper describes a vision-based simultaneous localization and mapping system to be applied to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs. The main contribution of this work is to propose a novel estimator relying on an Extended Kalman Filter. The estimator is designed in order to fuse the measurements obtained from: (i an orientation sensor (AHRS; (ii a position sensor (GPS; and (iii a monocular camera. The estimated state consists of the full state of the vehicle: position and orientation and their first derivatives, as well as the location of the landmarks observed by the camera. The position sensor will be used only during the initialization period in order to recover the metric scale of the world. Afterwards, the estimated map of landmarks will be used to perform a fully vision-based navigation when the position sensor is not available. Experimental results obtained with simulations and real data show the benefits of the inclusion of camera measurements into the system. In this sense the estimation of the trajectory of the vehicle is considerably improved, compared with the estimates obtained using only the measurements from the position sensor, which are commonly low-rated and highly noisy.

  13. Vision-Based SLAM System for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munguía, Rodrigo; Urzua, Sarquis; Bolea, Yolanda; Grau, Antoni

    2016-03-15

    The present paper describes a vision-based simultaneous localization and mapping system to be applied to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The main contribution of this work is to propose a novel estimator relying on an Extended Kalman Filter. The estimator is designed in order to fuse the measurements obtained from: (i) an orientation sensor (AHRS); (ii) a position sensor (GPS); and (iii) a monocular camera. The estimated state consists of the full state of the vehicle: position and orientation and their first derivatives, as well as the location of the landmarks observed by the camera. The position sensor will be used only during the initialization period in order to recover the metric scale of the world. Afterwards, the estimated map of landmarks will be used to perform a fully vision-based navigation when the position sensor is not available. Experimental results obtained with simulations and real data show the benefits of the inclusion of camera measurements into the system. In this sense the estimation of the trajectory of the vehicle is considerably improved, compared with the estimates obtained using only the measurements from the position sensor, which are commonly low-rated and highly noisy.

  14. Vector disparity sensor with vergence control for active vision systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barranco, Francisco; Diaz, Javier; Gibaldi, Agostino; Sabatini, Silvio P; Ros, Eduardo

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents an architecture for computing vector disparity for active vision systems as used on robotics applications. The control of the vergence angle of a binocular system allows us to efficiently explore dynamic environments, but requires a generalization of the disparity computation with respect to a static camera setup, where the disparity is strictly 1-D after the image rectification. The interaction between vision and motor control allows us to develop an active sensor that achieves high accuracy of the disparity computation around the fixation point, and fast reaction time for the vergence control. In this contribution, we address the development of a real-time architecture for vector disparity computation using an FPGA device. We implement the disparity unit and the control module for vergence, version, and tilt to determine the fixation point. In addition, two on-chip different alternatives for the vector disparity engines are discussed based on the luminance (gradient-based) and phase information of the binocular images. The multiscale versions of these engines are able to estimate the vector disparity up to 32 fps on VGA resolution images with very good accuracy as shown using benchmark sequences with known ground-truth. The performances in terms of frame-rate, resource utilization, and accuracy of the presented approaches are discussed. On the basis of these results, our study indicates that the gradient-based approach leads to the best trade-off choice for the integration with the active vision system.

  15. Comparison of Three Smart Camera Architectures for Real-Time Machine Vision System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdul Waheed Malik

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a machine vision system for real-time computation of distance and angle of a camera from a set of reference points located on a target board. Three different smart camera architectures were explored to compare performance parameters such as power consumption, frame speed and latency. Architecture 1 consists of hardware machine vision modules modeled at Register Transfer (RT level and a soft-core processor on a single FPGA chip. Architecture 2 is commercially available software based smart camera, Matrox Iris GT. Architecture 3 is a two-chip solution composed of hardware machine vision modules on FPGA and an external microcontroller. Results from a performance comparison show that Architecture 2 has higher latency and consumes much more power than Architecture 1 and 3. However, Architecture 2 benefits from an easy programming model. Smart camera system with FPGA and external microcontroller has lower latency and consumes less power as compared to single FPGA chip having hardware modules and soft-core processor.

  16. Industrial systems biology and its impact on synthetic biology of yeast cell factories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher, Eugene; Krivoruchko, Anastasia; Nielsen, Jens

    2016-06-01

    Engineering industrial cell factories to effectively yield a desired product while dealing with industrially relevant stresses is usually the most challenging step in the development of industrial production of chemicals using microbial fermentation processes. Using synthetic biology tools, microbial cell factories such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be engineered to express synthetic pathways for the production of fuels, biopharmaceuticals, fragrances, and food flavors. However, directing fluxes through these synthetic pathways towards the desired product can be demanding due to complex regulation or poor gene expression. Systems biology, which applies computational tools and mathematical modeling to understand complex biological networks, can be used to guide synthetic biology design. Here, we present our perspective on how systems biology can impact synthetic biology towards the goal of developing improved yeast cell factories. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1164-1170. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Vision Aided State Estimation for Helicopter Slung Load System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bisgaard, Morten; Bendtsen, Jan Dimon; la Cour-Harbo, Anders

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents the design and verification of a state estimator for a helicopter based slung load system. The estimator is designed to augment the IMU driven estimator found in many helicopter UAV s and uses vision based updates only. The process model used for the estimator is a simple 4...

  18. A vision-based driver nighttime assistance and surveillance system based on intelligent image sensing techniques and a heterogamous dual-core embedded system architecture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yen-Lin; Chiang, Hsin-Han; Chiang, Chuan-Yen; Liu, Chuan-Ming; Yuan, Shyan-Ming; Wang, Jenq-Haur

    2012-01-01

    This study proposes a vision-based intelligent nighttime driver assistance and surveillance system (VIDASS system) implemented by a set of embedded software components and modules, and integrates these modules to accomplish a component-based system framework on an embedded heterogamous dual-core platform. Therefore, this study develops and implements computer vision and sensing techniques of nighttime vehicle detection, collision warning determination, and traffic event recording. The proposed system processes the road-scene frames in front of the host car captured from CCD sensors mounted on the host vehicle. These vision-based sensing and processing technologies are integrated and implemented on an ARM-DSP heterogamous dual-core embedded platform. Peripheral devices, including image grabbing devices, communication modules, and other in-vehicle control devices, are also integrated to form an in-vehicle-embedded vision-based nighttime driver assistance and surveillance system.

  19. A Multiple Sensor Machine Vision System for Automatic Hardwood Feature Detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    D. Earl Kline; Richard W. Conners; Daniel L. Schmoldt; Philip A. Araman; Robert L. Brisbin

    1993-01-01

    A multiple sensor machine vision prototype is being developed to scan full size hardwood lumber at industrial speeds for automatically detecting features such as knots holes, wane, stain, splits, checks, and color. The prototype integrates a multiple sensor imaging system, a materials handling system, a computer system, and application software. The prototype provides...

  20. Biofeedback for Better Vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    1990-01-01

    Biofeedtrac, Inc.'s Accommotrac Vision Trainer, invented by Dr. Joseph Trachtman, is based on vision research performed by Ames Research Center and a special optometer developed for the Ames program by Stanford Research Institute. In the United States, about 150 million people are myopes (nearsighted), who tend to overfocus when they look at distant objects causing blurry distant vision, or hyperopes (farsighted), whose vision blurs when they look at close objects because they tend to underfocus. The Accommotrac system is an optical/electronic system used by a doctor as an aid in teaching a patient how to contract and relax the ciliary body, the focusing muscle. The key is biofeedback, wherein the patient learns to control a bodily process or function he is not normally aware of. Trachtman claims a 90 percent success rate for correcting, improving or stopping focusing problems. The Vision Trainer has also proved effective in treating other eye problems such as eye oscillation, cross eyes, and lazy eye and in professional sports to improve athletes' peripheral vision and reaction time.

  1. FLORA™: Phase I development of a functional vision assessment for prosthetic vision users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geruschat, Duane R; Flax, Marshall; Tanna, Nilima; Bianchi, Michelle; Fisher, Andy; Goldschmidt, Mira; Fisher, Lynne; Dagnelie, Gislin; Deremeik, Jim; Smith, Audrey; Anaflous, Fatima; Dorn, Jessy

    2015-07-01

    Research groups and funding agencies need a functional assessment suitable for an ultra-low vision population to evaluate the impact of new vision-restoration treatments. The purpose of this study was to develop a pilot assessment to capture the functional visual ability and well-being of subjects whose vision has been partially restored with the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System. The Functional Low-Vision Observer Rated Assessment (FLORA) pilot assessment involved a self-report section, a list of functional visual tasks for observation of performance and a case narrative summary. Results were analysed to determine whether the interview questions and functional visual tasks were appropriate for this ultra-low vision population and whether the ratings suffered from floor or ceiling effects. Thirty subjects with severe to profound retinitis pigmentosa (bare light perception or worse in both eyes) were enrolled in a clinical trial and implanted with the Argus II System. From this population, 26 subjects were assessed with the FLORA. Seven different evaluators administered the assessment. All 14 interview questions were asked. All 35 tasks for functional vision were selected for evaluation at least once, with an average of 20 subjects being evaluated for each test item. All four rating options—impossible (33 per cent), difficult (23 per cent), moderate (24 per cent) and easy (19 per cent)—were used by the evaluators. Evaluators also judged the amount of vision they observed the subjects using to complete the various tasks, with 'vision only' occurring 75 per cent on average with the System ON, and 29 per cent with the System OFF. The first version of the FLORA was found to contain useful elements for evaluation and to avoid floor and ceiling effects. The next phase of development will be to refine the assessment and to establish reliability and validity to increase its value as an assessment tool for functional vision and well-being. © 2015 The Authors. Clinical

  2. Development and Application of the Stereo Vision Tracking System with Virtual Reality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chia-Sui Wang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A virtual reality (VR driver tracking verification system is created, of which the application to stereo image tracking and positioning accuracy is researched in depth. In the research, the feature that the stereo vision system has image depth is utilized to improve the error rate of image tracking and image measurement. In a VR scenario, the function collecting behavioral data of driver was tested. By means of VR, racing operation is simulated and environmental (special weathers such as raining and snowing and artificial (such as sudden crossing road by pedestrians, appearing of vehicles from dead angles, roadblock variables are added as the base for system implementation. In addition, the implementation is performed with human factors engineered according to sudden conditions that may happen easily in driving. From experimental results, it proves that the stereo vision system created by the research has an image depth recognition error rate within 0.011%. The image tracking error rate may be smaller than 2.5%. In the research, the image recognition function of stereo vision is utilized to accomplish the data collection of driver tracking detection. In addition, the environmental conditions of different simulated real scenarios may also be created through VR.

  3. Optimizing a Synthetic Signaling System, Using Mathematical Modeling to Direct Experimental Work

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-09-05

    arsenic , toluene, lead, DDT, mercury, etc.). The synthetic signaling system then be used to trigger a phytoremediation process upon detection of these...transferred to soil and allowed to set seed. The T1 generation will yield plants heterozygous and homozygous for the synthetic signaling system, allowing...compounds, either by breaking them down or transporting them to the aerial tissue where they can be harvested and removed from the soil

  4. Comparison of a multispectral vision system and a colorimeter for the assessment of meat color

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Trinderup, Camilla Himmelstrup; Dahl, Anders Bjorholm; Jensen, Kirsten

    2015-01-01

    The color assessment ability of a multispectral vision system is investigated by a comparison study with color measurements from a traditional colorimeter. The experiment involves fresh and processed meat samples. Meat is a complex material; heterogeneous with varying scattering and reflectance...... are equally capable of measuring color. Moreover the vision system provides a more color rich assessment of fresh meat samples with a glossier surface, than the colorimeter. Careful studies of the different sources of variation enable an assessment of the order of magnitude of the variability between methods...... accounting for other sources of variation leading to the conclusion that color assessment using a multispectral vision system is superior to traditional colorimeter assessments. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

  5. Compensation for positioning error of industrial robot for flexible vision measuring system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Lei; Liang, Yajun; Song, Jincheng; Sun, Zengyu; Zhu, Jigui

    2013-01-01

    Positioning error of robot is a main factor of accuracy of flexible coordinate measuring system which consists of universal industrial robot and visual sensor. Present compensation methods for positioning error based on kinematic model of robot have a significant limitation that it isn't effective in the whole measuring space. A new compensation method for positioning error of robot based on vision measuring technique is presented. One approach is setting global control points in measured field and attaching an orientation camera to vision sensor. Then global control points are measured by orientation camera to calculate the transformation relation from the current position of sensor system to global coordinate system and positioning error of robot is compensated. Another approach is setting control points on vision sensor and two large field cameras behind the sensor. Then the three dimensional coordinates of control points are measured and the pose and position of sensor is calculated real-timely. Experiment result shows the RMS of spatial positioning is 3.422mm by single camera and 0.031mm by dual cameras. Conclusion is arithmetic of single camera method needs to be improved for higher accuracy and accuracy of dual cameras method is applicable.

  6. pClone: Synthetic Biology Tool Makes Promoter Research Accessible to Beginning Biology Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eckdahl, Todd; Cronk, Brian; Andresen, Corinne; Frederick, Paul; Huckuntod, Samantha; Shinneman, Claire; Wacker, Annie; Yuan, Jason

    2014-01-01

    The Vision and Change report recommended genuine research experiences for undergraduate biology students. Authentic research improves science education, increases the number of scientifically literate citizens, and encourages students to pursue research. Synthetic biology is well suited for undergraduate research and is a growing area of science. We developed a laboratory module called pClone that empowers students to use advances in molecular cloning methods to discover new promoters for use by synthetic biologists. Our educational goals are consistent with Vision and Change and emphasize core concepts and competencies. pClone is a family of three plasmids that students use to clone a new transcriptional promoter or mutate a canonical promoter and measure promoter activity in Escherichia coli. We also developed the Registry of Functional Promoters, an open-access database of student promoter research results. Using pre- and posttests, we measured significant learning gains among students using pClone in introductory biology and genetics classes. Student posttest scores were significantly better than scores of students who did not use pClone. pClone is an easy and affordable mechanism for large-enrollment labs to meet the high standards of Vision and Change. PMID:26086659

  7. Data-Fusion for a Vision-Aided Radiological Detection System: Sensor dependence and Source Tracking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stadnikia, Kelsey; Martin, Allan; Henderson, Kristofer; Koppal, Sanjeev; Enqvist, Andreas

    2018-01-01

    The University of Florida is taking a multidisciplinary approach to fuse the data between 3D vision sensors and radiological sensors in hopes of creating a system capable of not only detecting the presence of a radiological threat, but also tracking it. The key to developing such a vision-aided radiological detection system, lies in the count rate being inversely dependent on the square of the distance. Presented in this paper are the results of the calibration algorithm used to predict the location of the radiological detectors based on 3D distance from the source to the detector (vision data) and the detectors count rate (radiological data). Also presented are the results of two correlation methods used to explore source tracking.

  8. Computer-aided system for detecting runway incursions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sridhar, Banavar; Chatterji, Gano B.

    1994-07-01

    A synthetic vision system for enhancing the pilot's ability to navigate and control the aircraft on the ground is described. The system uses the onboard airport database and images acquired by external sensors. Additional navigation information needed by the system is provided by the Inertial Navigation System and the Global Positioning System. The various functions of the system, such as image enhancement, map generation, obstacle detection, collision avoidance, guidance, etc., are identified. The available technologies, some of which were developed at NASA, that are applicable to the aircraft ground navigation problem are noted. Example images of a truck crossing the runway while the aircraft flies close to the runway centerline are described. These images are from a sequence of images acquired during one of the several flight experiments conducted by NASA to acquire data to be used for the development and verification of the synthetic vision concepts. These experiments provide a realistic database including video and infrared images, motion states from the Inertial Navigation System and the Global Positioning System, and camera parameters.

  9. Computer vision in roadway transportation systems: a survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loce, Robert P.; Bernal, Edgar A.; Wu, Wencheng; Bala, Raja

    2013-10-01

    There is a worldwide effort to apply 21st century intelligence to evolving our transportation networks. The goals of smart transportation networks are quite noble and manifold, including safety, efficiency, law enforcement, energy conservation, and emission reduction. Computer vision is playing a key role in this transportation evolution. Video imaging scientists are providing intelligent sensing and processing technologies for a wide variety of applications and services. There are many interesting technical challenges including imaging under a variety of environmental and illumination conditions, data overload, recognition and tracking of objects at high speed, distributed network sensing and processing, energy sources, as well as legal concerns. This paper presents a survey of computer vision techniques related to three key problems in the transportation domain: safety, efficiency, and security and law enforcement. A broad review of the literature is complemented by detailed treatment of a few selected algorithms and systems that the authors believe represent the state-of-the-art.

  10. Intelligent Vision System for Door Sensing Mobile Robot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jharna Majumdar

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Wheeled Mobile Robots find numerous applications in the Indoor man made structured environments. In order to operate effectively, the robots must be capable of sensing its surroundings. Computer Vision is one of the prime research areas directed towards achieving these sensing capabilities. In this paper, we present a Door Sensing Mobile Robot capable of navigating in the indoor environment. A robust and inexpensive approach for recognition and classification of the door, based on monocular vision system helps the mobile robot in decision making. To prove the efficacy of the algorithm we have designed and developed a ‘Differentially’ Driven Mobile Robot. A wall following behavior using Ultra Sonic range sensors is employed by the mobile robot for navigation in the corridors.  Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA have been used for the implementation of PD Controller for wall following and PID Controller to control the speed of the Geared DC Motor.

  11. SailSpy: a vision system for yacht sail shape measurement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olsson, Olof J.; Power, P. Wayne; Bowman, Chris C.; Palmer, G. Terry; Clist, Roger S.

    1992-11-01

    SailSpy is a real-time vision system which we have developed for automatically measuring sail shapes and masthead rotation on racing yachts. Versions have been used by the New Zealand team in two America's Cup challenges in 1988 and 1992. SailSpy uses four miniature video cameras mounted at the top of the mast to provide views of the headsail and mainsail on either tack. The cameras are connected to the SailSpy computer below deck using lightweight cables mounted inside the mast. Images received from the cameras are automatically analyzed by the SailSpy computer, and sail shape and mast rotation parameters are calculated. The sail shape parameters are calculated by recognizing sail markers (ellipses) that have been attached to the sails, and the mast rotation parameters by recognizing deck markers painted on the deck. This paper describes the SailSpy system and some of the vision algorithms used.

  12. Data Fusion for a Vision-Radiological System for Source Tracking and Discovery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Enqvist, Andreas; Koppal, Sanjeev [University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32606 (United States)

    2015-07-01

    A multidisciplinary approach to allow the tracking of the movement of radioactive sources by fusing data from multiple radiological and visual sensors is under development. The goal is to improve the ability to detect, locate, track and identify nuclear/radiological threats. The key concept is that such widely available visual and depth sensors can impact radiological detection, since the intensity fall-off in the count rate can be correlated to movement in three dimensions. To enable this, we pose an important question; what is the right combination of sensing modalities and vision algorithms that can best compliment a radiological sensor, for the purpose of detection and tracking of radioactive material? Similarly what is the best radiation detection methods and unfolding algorithms suited for data fusion with tracking data? Data fusion of multi-sensor data for radiation detection have seen some interesting developments lately. Significant examples include intelligent radiation sensor systems (IRSS), which are based on larger numbers of distributed similar or identical radiation sensors coupled with position data for network capable to detect and locate radiation source. Other developments are gamma-ray imaging systems based on Compton scatter in segmented detector arrays. Similar developments using coded apertures or scatter cameras for neutrons have recently occurred. The main limitation of such systems is not so much in their capability but rather in their complexity and cost which is prohibitive for large scale deployment. Presented here is a fusion system based on simple, low-cost computer vision and radiological sensors for tracking of multiple objects and identifying potential radiological materials being transported or shipped. The main focus of this work is the development on two separate calibration algorithms for characterizing the fused sensor system. The deviation from a simple inverse square-root fall-off of radiation intensity is explored and

  13. Data Fusion for a Vision-Radiological System for Source Tracking and Discovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Enqvist, Andreas; Koppal, Sanjeev

    2015-01-01

    A multidisciplinary approach to allow the tracking of the movement of radioactive sources by fusing data from multiple radiological and visual sensors is under development. The goal is to improve the ability to detect, locate, track and identify nuclear/radiological threats. The key concept is that such widely available visual and depth sensors can impact radiological detection, since the intensity fall-off in the count rate can be correlated to movement in three dimensions. To enable this, we pose an important question; what is the right combination of sensing modalities and vision algorithms that can best compliment a radiological sensor, for the purpose of detection and tracking of radioactive material? Similarly what is the best radiation detection methods and unfolding algorithms suited for data fusion with tracking data? Data fusion of multi-sensor data for radiation detection have seen some interesting developments lately. Significant examples include intelligent radiation sensor systems (IRSS), which are based on larger numbers of distributed similar or identical radiation sensors coupled with position data for network capable to detect and locate radiation source. Other developments are gamma-ray imaging systems based on Compton scatter in segmented detector arrays. Similar developments using coded apertures or scatter cameras for neutrons have recently occurred. The main limitation of such systems is not so much in their capability but rather in their complexity and cost which is prohibitive for large scale deployment. Presented here is a fusion system based on simple, low-cost computer vision and radiological sensors for tracking of multiple objects and identifying potential radiological materials being transported or shipped. The main focus of this work is the development on two separate calibration algorithms for characterizing the fused sensor system. The deviation from a simple inverse square-root fall-off of radiation intensity is explored and

  14. Topics in medical image processing and computational vision

    CERN Document Server

    Jorge, Renato

    2013-01-01

      The sixteen chapters included in this book were written by invited experts of international recognition and address important issues in Medical Image Processing and Computational Vision, including: Object Recognition, Object Detection, Object Tracking, Pose Estimation, Facial Expression Recognition, Image Retrieval, Data Mining, Automatic Video Understanding and Management, Edges Detection, Image Segmentation, Modelling and Simulation, Medical thermography, Database Systems, Synthetic Aperture Radar and Satellite Imagery.   Different applications are addressed and described throughout the book, comprising: Object Recognition and Tracking, Facial Expression Recognition, Image Database, Plant Disease Classification, Video Understanding and Management, Image Processing, Image Segmentation, Bio-structure Modelling and Simulation, Medical Imaging, Image Classification, Medical Diagnosis, Urban Areas Classification, Land Map Generation.   The book brings together the current state-of-the-art in the various mul...

  15. Early Cognitive Vision as a Frontend for Cognitive Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krüger, Norbert; Pugeault, Nicolas; Baseski, Emre

    We discuss the need of an elaborated in-between stage bridging early vision and cognitive vision which we call `Early Cognitive Vision' (ECV). This stage provides semantically rich, disambiguated and largely task independent scene representations which can be used in many contexts. In addition...

  16. Visions and visioning in foresight activities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Michael Søgaard; Grosu, Dan

    2007-01-01

    The paper discusses the roles of visioning processes and visions in foresight activities and in societal discourses and changes parallel to or following foresight activities. The overall topic can be characterised as the dynamics and mechanisms that make visions and visioning processes work...... or not work. The theoretical part of the paper presents an actor-network theory approach to the analyses of visions and visioning processes, where the shaping of the visions and the visioning and what has made them work or not work is analysed. The empirical part is based on analyses of the roles of visions...... and visioning processes in a number of foresight processes from different societal contexts. The analyses have been carried out as part of the work in the COST A22 network on foresight. A vision is here understood as a description of a desirable or preferable future, compared to a scenario which is understood...

  17. Panoramic stereo sphere vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Weijia; Zhang, Baofeng; Röning, Juha; Zong, Xiaoning; Yi, Tian

    2013-01-01

    Conventional stereo vision systems have a small field of view (FOV) which limits their usefulness for certain applications. While panorama vision is able to "see" in all directions of the observation space, scene depth information is missed because of the mapping from 3D reference coordinates to 2D panoramic image. In this paper, we present an innovative vision system which builds by a special combined fish-eye lenses module, and is capable of producing 3D coordinate information from the whole global observation space and acquiring no blind area 360°×360° panoramic image simultaneously just using single vision equipment with one time static shooting. It is called Panoramic Stereo Sphere Vision (PSSV). We proposed the geometric model, mathematic model and parameters calibration method in this paper. Specifically, video surveillance, robotic autonomous navigation, virtual reality, driving assistance, multiple maneuvering target tracking, automatic mapping of environments and attitude estimation are some of the applications which will benefit from PSSV.

  18. Differential GNSS and Vision-Based Tracking to Improve Navigation Performance in Cooperative Multi-UAV Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amedeo Rodi Vetrella

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Autonomous navigation of micro-UAVs is typically based on the integration of low cost Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS receivers and Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS-based inertial and magnetic sensors to stabilize and control the flight. The resulting navigation performance in terms of position and attitude accuracy may not suffice for other mission needs, such as the ones relevant to fine sensor pointing. In this framework, this paper presents a cooperative UAV navigation algorithm that allows a chief vehicle, equipped with inertial and magnetic sensors, a Global Positioning System (GPS receiver, and a vision system, to improve its navigation performance (in real time or in the post processing phase exploiting formation flying deputy vehicles equipped with GPS receivers. The focus is set on outdoor environments and the key concept is to exploit differential GPS among vehicles and vision-based tracking (DGPS/Vision to build a virtual additional navigation sensor whose information is then integrated in a sensor fusion algorithm based on an Extended Kalman Filter. The developed concept and processing architecture are described, with a focus on DGPS/Vision attitude determination algorithm. Performance assessment is carried out on the basis of both numerical simulations and flight tests. In the latter ones, navigation estimates derived from the DGPS/Vision approach are compared with those provided by the onboard autopilot system of a customized quadrotor. The analysis shows the potential of the developed approach, mainly deriving from the possibility to exploit magnetic- and inertial-independent accurate attitude information.

  19. Perception of synthetic speech produced automatically by rule: Intelligibility of eight text-to-speech systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greene, Beth G; Logan, John S; Pisoni, David B

    1986-03-01

    We present the results of studies designed to measure the segmental intelligibility of eight text-to-speech systems and a natural speech control, using the Modified Rhyme Test (MRT). Results indicated that the voices tested could be grouped into four categories: natural speech, high-quality synthetic speech, moderate-quality synthetic speech, and low-quality synthetic speech. The overall performance of the best synthesis system, DECtalk-Paul, was equivalent to natural speech only in terms of performance on initial consonants. The findings are discussed in terms of recent work investigating the perception of synthetic speech under more severe conditions. Suggestions for future research on improving the quality of synthetic speech are also considered.

  20. Perception of synthetic speech produced automatically by rule: Intelligibility of eight text-to-speech systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    GREENE, BETH G.; LOGAN, JOHN S.; PISONI, DAVID B.

    2012-01-01

    We present the results of studies designed to measure the segmental intelligibility of eight text-to-speech systems and a natural speech control, using the Modified Rhyme Test (MRT). Results indicated that the voices tested could be grouped into four categories: natural speech, high-quality synthetic speech, moderate-quality synthetic speech, and low-quality synthetic speech. The overall performance of the best synthesis system, DECtalk-Paul, was equivalent to natural speech only in terms of performance on initial consonants. The findings are discussed in terms of recent work investigating the perception of synthetic speech under more severe conditions. Suggestions for future research on improving the quality of synthetic speech are also considered. PMID:23225916

  1. Modeling foveal vision

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Florack, L.M.J.; Sgallari, F.; Murli, A.; Paragios, N.

    2007-01-01

    geometric model is proposed for an artificial foveal vision system, and its plausibility in the context of biological vision is explored. The model is based on an isotropic, scale invariant two-form that describes the spatial layout of receptive fields in the the visual sensorium (in the biological

  2. Functional programming for computer vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breuel, Thomas M.

    1992-04-01

    Functional programming is a style of programming that avoids the use of side effects (like assignment) and uses functions as first class data objects. Compared with imperative programs, functional programs can be parallelized better, and provide better encapsulation, type checking, and abstractions. This is important for building and integrating large vision software systems. In the past, efficiency has been an obstacle to the application of functional programming techniques in computationally intensive areas such as computer vision. We discuss and evaluate several 'functional' data structures for representing efficiently data structures and objects common in computer vision. In particular, we will address: automatic storage allocation and reclamation issues; abstraction of control structures; efficient sequential update of large data structures; representing images as functions; and object-oriented programming. Our experience suggests that functional techniques are feasible for high- performance vision systems, and that a functional approach simplifies the implementation and integration of vision systems greatly. Examples in C++ and SML are given.

  3. Utilizing Robot Operating System (ROS) in Robot Vision and Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-09-01

    Palmer, “Development of a navigation system for semi-autonomous operation of wheelchairs,” in Proc. of the 8th IEEE/ASME Int. Conf. on Mechatronic ...and Embedded Systems and Applications, Suzhou, China, 2012, pp. 257-262. [30] G. Grisetti, C. Stachniss, and W. Burgard, “Improving grid-based SLAM...OPERATING SYSTEM (ROS) IN ROBOT VISION AND CONTROL by Joshua S. Lum September 2015 Thesis Advisor: Xiaoping Yun Co-Advisor: Zac Staples

  4. Fiber optic coherent laser radar 3d vision system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sebastian, R.L.; Clark, R.B.; Simonson, D.L.

    1994-01-01

    Recent advances in fiber optic component technology and digital processing components have enabled the development of a new 3D vision system based upon a fiber optic FMCW coherent laser radar. The approach includes a compact scanner with no moving parts capable of randomly addressing all pixels. The system maintains the immunity to lighting and surface shading conditions which is characteristic of coherent laser radar. The random pixel addressability allows concentration of scanning and processing on the active areas of a scene, as is done by the human eye-brain system

  5. Interoperability Strategic Vision

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Widergren, Steven E.; Knight, Mark R.; Melton, Ronald B.; Narang, David; Martin, Maurice; Nordman, Bruce; Khandekar, Aditya; Hardy, Keith S.

    2018-02-28

    The Interoperability Strategic Vision whitepaper aims to promote a common understanding of the meaning and characteristics of interoperability and to provide a strategy to advance the state of interoperability as applied to integration challenges facing grid modernization. This includes addressing the quality of integrating devices and systems and the discipline to improve the process of successfully integrating these components as business models and information technology improve over time. The strategic vision for interoperability described in this document applies throughout the electric energy generation, delivery, and end-use supply chain. Its scope includes interactive technologies and business processes from bulk energy levels to lower voltage level equipment and the millions of appliances that are becoming equipped with processing power and communication interfaces. A transformational aspect of a vision for interoperability in the future electric system is the coordinated operation of intelligent devices and systems at the edges of grid infrastructure. This challenge offers an example for addressing interoperability concerns throughout the electric system.

  6. Robot vision for nuclear advanced robot

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakayama, Ryoichi; Okano, Hideharu; Kuno, Yoshinori; Miyazawa, Tatsuo; Shimada, Hideo; Okada, Satoshi; Kawamura, Astuo

    1991-01-01

    This paper describes Robot Vision and Operation System for Nuclear Advanced Robot. This Robot Vision consists of robot position detection, obstacle detection and object recognition. With these vision techniques, a mobile robot can make a path and move autonomously along the planned path. The authors implemented the above robot vision system on the 'Advanced Robot for Nuclear Power Plant' and tested in an environment mocked up as nuclear power plant facilities. Since the operation system for this robot consists of operator's console and a large stereo monitor, this system can be easily operated by one person. Experimental tests were made using the Advanced Robot (nuclear robot). Results indicate that the proposed operation system is very useful, and can be operate by only person. (author)

  7. Embedded Vehicle Speed Estimation System Using an Asynchronous Temporal Contrast Vision Sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Bauer

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available This article presents an embedded multilane traffic data acquisition system based on an asynchronous temporal contrast vision sensor, and algorithms for vehicle speed estimation developed to make efficient use of the asynchronous high-precision timing information delivered by this sensor. The vision sensor features high temporal resolution with a latency of less than 100 μs, wide dynamic range of 120 dB of illumination, and zero-redundancy, asynchronous data output. For data collection, processing and interfacing, a low-cost digital signal processor is used. The speed of the detected vehicles is calculated from the vision sensor's asynchronous temporal contrast event data. We present three different algorithms for velocity estimation and evaluate their accuracy by means of calibrated reference measurements. The error of the speed estimation of all algorithms is near zero mean and has a standard deviation better than 3% for both traffic flow directions. The results and the accuracy limitations as well as the combined use of the algorithms in the system are discussed.

  8. Soft Computing Techniques in Vision Science

    CERN Document Server

    Yang, Yeon-Mo

    2012-01-01

    This Special Edited Volume is a unique approach towards Computational solution for the upcoming field of study called Vision Science. From a scientific firmament Optics, Ophthalmology, and Optical Science has surpassed an Odyssey of optimizing configurations of Optical systems, Surveillance Cameras and other Nano optical devices with the metaphor of Nano Science and Technology. Still these systems are falling short of its computational aspect to achieve the pinnacle of human vision system. In this edited volume much attention has been given to address the coupling issues Computational Science and Vision Studies.  It is a comprehensive collection of research works addressing various related areas of Vision Science like Visual Perception and Visual system, Cognitive Psychology, Neuroscience, Psychophysics and Ophthalmology, linguistic relativity, color vision etc. This issue carries some latest developments in the form of research articles and presentations. The volume is rich of contents with technical tools ...

  9. Distance based control system for machine vision-based selective spraying

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steward, B.L.; Tian, L.F.; Tang, L.

    2002-01-01

    For effective operation of a selective sprayer with real-time local weed sensing, herbicides must be delivered, accurately to weed targets in the field. With a machine vision-based selective spraying system, acquiring sequential images and switching nozzles on and off at the correct locations are

  10. Exploring Techniques for Vision Based Human Activity Recognition: Methods, Systems, and Evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong Zhang

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available With the wide applications of vision based intelligent systems, image and video analysis technologies have attracted the attention of researchers in the computer vision field. In image and video analysis, human activity recognition is an important research direction. By interpreting and understanding human activity, we can recognize and predict the occurrence of crimes and help the police or other agencies react immediately. In the past, a large number of papers have been published on human activity recognition in video and image sequences. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey of the recent development of the techniques, including methods, systems, and quantitative evaluation towards the performance of human activity recognition.

  11. A vision-based system for fast and accurate laser scanning in robot-assisted phonomicrosurgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dagnino, Giulio; Mattos, Leonardo S; Caldwell, Darwin G

    2015-02-01

    Surgical quality in phonomicrosurgery can be improved by open-loop laser control (e.g., high-speed scanning capabilities) with a robust and accurate closed-loop visual servoing systems. A new vision-based system for laser scanning control during robot-assisted phonomicrosurgery was developed and tested. Laser scanning was accomplished with a dual control strategy, which adds a vision-based trajectory correction phase to a fast open-loop laser controller. The system is designed to eliminate open-loop aiming errors caused by system calibration limitations and by the unpredictable topology of real targets. Evaluation of the new system was performed using CO(2) laser cutting trials on artificial targets and ex-vivo tissue. This system produced accuracy values corresponding to pixel resolution even when smoke created by the laser-target interaction clutters the camera view. In realistic test scenarios, trajectory following RMS errors were reduced by almost 80 % with respect to open-loop system performances, reaching mean error values around 30 μ m and maximum observed errors in the order of 60 μ m. A new vision-based laser microsurgical control system was shown to be effective and promising with significant positive potential impact on the safety and quality of laser microsurgeries.

  12. Intelligent Machine Vision Based Modeling and Positioning System in Sand Casting Process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahid Ikramullah Butt

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Advanced vision solutions enable manufacturers in the technology sector to reconcile both competitive and regulatory concerns and address the need for immaculate fault detection and quality assurance. The modern manufacturing has completely shifted from the manual inspections to the machine assisted vision inspection methodology. Furthermore, the research outcomes in industrial automation have revolutionized the whole product development strategy. The purpose of this research paper is to introduce a new scheme of automation in the sand casting process by means of machine vision based technology for mold positioning. Automation has been achieved by developing a novel system in which casting molds of different sizes, having different pouring cup location and radius, position themselves in front of the induction furnace such that the center of pouring cup comes directly beneath the pouring point of furnace. The coordinates of the center of pouring cup are found by using computer vision algorithms. The output is then transferred to a microcontroller which controls the alignment mechanism on which the mold is placed at the optimum location.

  13. The Light Plane Calibration Method of the Laser Welding Vision Monitoring System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, B. G.; Wu, M. H.; Jia, W. P.

    2018-03-01

    According to the aerospace and automobile industry, the sheet steels are the very important parts. In the recent years, laser welding technique had been used to weld the sheet steel part. The seam width between the two parts is usually less than 0.1mm. Because the error of the fixture fixed can’t be eliminated, the welding parts quality can be greatly affected. In order to improve the welding quality, the line structured light is employed in the vision monitoring system to plan the welding path before welding. In order to improve the weld precision, the vision system is located on Z axis of the computer numerical control (CNC) tool. The planar pattern is placed on the X-Y plane of the CNC tool, and the structured light is projected on the planar pattern. The vision system stay at three different positions along the Z axis of the CNC tool, and the camera shoot the image of the planar pattern at every position. Using the calculated the sub-pixel center line of the structure light, the world coordinate of the center light line can be calculated. Thus, the structured light plane can be calculated by fitting the structured light line. Experiment result shows the effective of the proposed method.

  14. Synthetic Biology: Advancing Biological Frontiers by Building Synthetic Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Yvonne Yu-Hsuan; Galloway, Kate E; Smolke, Christina D

    2012-01-01

    Advances in synthetic biology are contributing to diverse research areas, from basic biology to biomanufacturing and disease therapy. We discuss the theoretical foundation, applications, and potential of this emerging field.

  15. pClone: Synthetic Biology Tool Makes Promoter Research Accessible to Beginning Biology Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, A. Malcolm; Eckdahl, Todd; Cronk, Brian; Andresen, Corinne; Frederick, Paul; Huckuntod, Samantha; Shinneman, Claire; Wacker, Annie; Yuan, Jason

    2014-01-01

    The "Vision and Change" report recommended genuine research experiences for undergraduate biology students. Authentic research improves science education, increases the number of scientifically literate citizens, and encourages students to pursue research. Synthetic biology is well suited for undergraduate research and is a growing area…

  16. [New polymer-drug systems based on natural and synthetic polymers].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Racoviţă, Stefania; Vasiliu, Silvia; Foia, Liliana

    2010-01-01

    The great versatility of polymers makes them very useful in the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. The combination of natural and synthetic polymers leads to new materials with tailored functional properties. The aim of this work consists in the preparation of new drug delivery system based on chitosan (natural polymer) and polybetaines (synthetic polymers), by a simple process, well known in the literature as complex coacervation methods. Also, the adsorption and release studies of two antibiotics as well as the preservation of their bactericidal capacities were performed.

  17. Computer vision system in real-time for color determination on flat surface food

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erick Saldaña

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Artificial vision systems also known as computer vision are potent quality inspection tools, which can be applied in pattern recognition for fruits and vegetables analysis. The aim of this research was to design, implement and calibrate a new computer vision system (CVS in real-time for the color measurement on flat surface food. For this purpose was designed and implemented a device capable of performing this task (software and hardware, which consisted of two phases: a image acquisition and b image processing and analysis. Both the algorithm and the graphical interface (GUI were developed in Matlab. The CVS calibration was performed using a conventional colorimeter (Model CIEL* a* b*, where were estimated the errors of the color parameters: eL* = 5.001%, and ea* = 2.287%, and eb* = 4.314 % which ensure adequate and efficient automation application in industrial processes in the quality control in the food industry sector.

  18. Computer vision system in real-time for color determination on flat surface food

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erick Saldaña

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Artificial vision systems also known as computer vision are potent quality inspection tools, which can be applied in pattern recognition for fruits and vegetables analysis. The aim of this research was to design, implement and calibrate a new computer vision system (CVS in real - time f or the color measurement on flat surface food. For this purpose was designed and implemented a device capable of performing this task (software and hardware, which consisted of two phases: a image acquisition and b image processing and analysis. Both th e algorithm and the graphical interface (GUI were developed in Matlab. The CVS calibration was performed using a conventional colorimeter (Model CIEL* a* b*, where were estimated the errors of the color parameters: e L* = 5.001%, and e a* = 2.287%, and e b* = 4.314 % which ensure adequate and efficient automation application in industrial processes in the quality control in the food industry sector.

  19. The research of binocular vision ranging system based on LabVIEW

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shikuan; Yang, Xu

    2017-10-01

    Based on the study of the principle of binocular parallax ranging, a binocular vision ranging system is designed and built. The stereo matching algorithm is realized by LabVIEW software. The camera calibration and distance measurement are completed. The error analysis shows that the system fast, effective, can be used in the corresponding industrial occasions.

  20. Synthetic Biology Platform for Sensing and Integrating Endogenous Transcriptional Inputs in Mammalian Cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angelici, Bartolomeo; Mailand, Erik; Haefliger, Benjamin; Benenson, Yaakov

    2016-08-30

    One of the goals of synthetic biology is to develop programmable artificial gene networks that can transduce multiple endogenous molecular cues to precisely control cell behavior. Realizing this vision requires interfacing natural molecular inputs with synthetic components that generate functional molecular outputs. Interfacing synthetic circuits with endogenous mammalian transcription factors has been particularly difficult. Here, we describe a systematic approach that enables integration and transduction of multiple mammalian transcription factor inputs by a synthetic network. The approach is facilitated by a proportional amplifier sensor based on synergistic positive autoregulation. The circuits efficiently transduce endogenous transcription factor levels into RNAi, transcriptional transactivation, and site-specific recombination. They also enable AND logic between pairs of arbitrary transcription factors. The results establish a framework for developing synthetic gene networks that interface with cellular processes through transcriptional regulators. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. The system architecture for renewable synthetic fuels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ridjan, Iva

    To overcome and eventually eliminate the existing heavy fossil fuels in the transport sector, there is a need for new renewable fuels. This transition could lead to large capital costs for implementing the new solutions and a long time frame for establishing the new infrastructure unless a suitable...... and production plants, so it is important to implement it in the best manner possible to ensure an efficient and flexible system. The poster will provide an overview of the steps involved in the production of synthetic fuel and possible solutions for the system architecture based on the current literature...

  2. Understanding and applying machine vision

    CERN Document Server

    Zeuch, Nello

    2000-01-01

    A discussion of applications of machine vision technology in the semiconductor, electronic, automotive, wood, food, pharmaceutical, printing, and container industries. It describes systems that enable projects to move forward swiftly and efficiently, and focuses on the nuances of the engineering and system integration of machine vision technology.

  3. Gait disorder rehabilitation using vision and non-vision based sensors: A systematic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asraf Ali

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Even though the amount of rehabilitation guidelines has never been greater, uncertainty continues to arise regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of the rehabilitation of gait disorders. This question has been hindered by the lack of information on accurate measurements of gait disorders. Thus, this article reviews the rehabilitation systems for gait disorder using vision and non-vision sensor technologies, as well as the combination of these. All papers published in the English language between 1990 and June, 2012 that had the phrases “gait disorder” “rehabilitation”, “vision sensor”, or “non vision sensor” in the title, abstract, or keywords were identified from the SpringerLink, ELSEVIER, PubMed, and IEEE databases. Some synonyms of these phrases and the logical words “and” “or” and “not” were also used in the article searching procedure. Out of the 91 published articles found, this review identified 84 articles that described the rehabilitation of gait disorders using different types of sensor technologies. This literature set presented strong evidence for the development of rehabilitation systems using a markerless vision-based sensor technology. We therefore believe that the information contained in this review paper will assist the progress of the development of rehabilitation systems for human gait disorders.

  4. A remote assessment system with a vision robot and wearable sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Tong; Wang, Jue; Ren, Yumiao; Li, Jianjun

    2004-01-01

    This paper describes an ongoing researched remote rehabilitation assessment system that has a 6-freedom double-eyes vision robot to catch vision information, and a group of wearable sensors to acquire biomechanical signals. A server computer is fixed on the robot, to provide services to the robot's controller and all the sensors. The robot is connected to Internet by wireless channel, and so do the sensors to the robot. Rehabilitation professionals can semi-automatically practise an assessment program via Internet. The preliminary results show that the smart device, including the robot and the sensors, can improve the quality of remote assessment, and reduce the complexity of operation at a distance.

  5. System of error detection in the manufacture of garments using artificial vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno, J. J.; Aguila, A.; Partida, E.; Martinez, C. L.; Morales, O.; Tejeida, R.

    2017-12-01

    A computer vision system is implemented to detect errors in the cutting stage within the manufacturing process of garments in the textile industry. It provides solution to errors within the process that cannot be easily detected by any employee, in addition to significantly increase the speed of quality review. In the textile industry as in many others, quality control is required in manufactured products and this has been carried out manually by means of visual inspection by employees over the years. For this reason, the objective of this project is to design a quality control system using computer vision to identify errors in the cutting stage within the garment manufacturing process to increase the productivity of textile processes by reducing costs.

  6. Machine vision system for automated detection of stained pistachio nuts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearson, Tom C.

    1995-01-01

    A machine vision system was developed to separate stained pistachio nuts, which comprise of about 5% of the California crop, from unstained nuts. The system may be used to reduce labor involved with manual grading or to remove aflatoxin contaminated product from low grade process streams. The system was tested on two different pistachio process streams: the bi- chromatic color sorter reject stream and the small nut shelling stock stream. The system had a minimum overall error rate of 14% for the bi-chromatic sorter reject stream and 15% for the small shelling stock stream.

  7. Low Cost Vision Based Personal Mobile Mapping System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amami, M. M.; Smith, M. J.; Kokkas, N.

    2014-03-01

    Mobile mapping systems (MMS) can be used for several purposes, such as transportation, highway infrastructure mapping and GIS data collecting. However, the acceptance of these systems is not wide spread and their use is still limited due the high cost and dependency on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). A low cost vision based personal MMS has been produced with an aim to overcome these limitations. The system has been designed to depend mainly on cameras and use of low cost GNSS and inertial sensors to provide a bundle adjustment solution with initial values. The system has the potential to be used indoor and outdoor. The system has been tested indoors and outdoors with different GPS coverage, surrounded features, and narrow and curvy paths. Tests show that the system is able to work in such environments providing 3D coordinates of better than 10 cm accuracy.

  8. Low Cost Vision Based Personal Mobile Mapping System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. M. Amami

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Mobile mapping systems (MMS can be used for several purposes, such as transportation, highway infrastructure mapping and GIS data collecting. However, the acceptance of these systems is not wide spread and their use is still limited due the high cost and dependency on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS. A low cost vision based personal MMS has been produced with an aim to overcome these limitations. The system has been designed to depend mainly on cameras and use of low cost GNSS and inertial sensors to provide a bundle adjustment solution with initial values. The system has the potential to be used indoor and outdoor. The system has been tested indoors and outdoors with different GPS coverage, surrounded features, and narrow and curvy paths. Tests show that the system is able to work in such environments providing 3D coordinates of better than 10 cm accuracy.

  9. Development of 3D online contact measurement system for intelligent manufacturing based on stereo vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Peng; Chong, Wenyan; Ma, Yongjun

    2017-10-01

    In order to avoid shortcomings of low efficiency and restricted measuring range exsited in traditional 3D on-line contact measurement method for workpiece size, the development of a novel 3D contact measurement system is introduced, which is designed for intelligent manufacturing based on stereo vision. The developed contact measurement system is characterized with an intergarted use of a handy probe, a binocular stereo vision system, and advanced measurement software.The handy probe consists of six track markers, a touch probe and the associated elcetronics. In the process of contact measurement, the hand probe can be located by the use of the stereo vision system and track markers, and 3D coordinates of a space point on the workpiece can be mearsured by calculating the tip position of a touch probe. With the flexibility of the hand probe, the orientation, range, density of the 3D contact measurenent can be adptable to different needs. Applications of the developed contact measurement system to high-precision measurement and rapid surface digitization are experimentally demonstrated.

  10. Multi-camera and structured-light vision system (MSVS) for dynamic high-accuracy 3D measurements of railway tunnels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhan, Dong; Yu, Long; Xiao, Jian; Chen, Tanglong

    2015-04-14

    Railway tunnel 3D clearance inspection is critical to guaranteeing railway operation safety. However, it is a challenge to inspect railway tunnel 3D clearance using a vision system, because both the spatial range and field of view (FOV) of such measurements are quite large. This paper summarizes our work on dynamic railway tunnel 3D clearance inspection based on a multi-camera and structured-light vision system (MSVS). First, the configuration of the MSVS is described. Then, the global calibration for the MSVS is discussed in detail. The onboard vision system is mounted on a dedicated vehicle and is expected to suffer from multiple degrees of freedom vibrations brought about by the running vehicle. Any small vibration can result in substantial measurement errors. In order to overcome this problem, a vehicle motion deviation rectifying method is investigated. Experiments using the vision inspection system are conducted with satisfactory online measurement results.

  11. Synthetic sustained gene delivery systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarwal, Ankit; Mallapragada, Surya K

    2008-01-01

    Gene therapy today is hampered by the need of a safe and efficient gene delivery system that can provide a sustained therapeutic effect without cytotoxicity or unwanted immune responses. Bolus gene delivery in solution results in the loss of delivered factors via lymphatic system and may cause undesired effects by the escape of bioactive molecules to distant sites. Controlled gene delivery systems, acting as localized depot of genes, provide an extended sustained release of genes, giving prolonged maintenance of the therapeutic level of encoded proteins. They also limit the DNA degradation in the nuclease rich extra-cellular environment. While attempts have been made to adapt existing controlled drug delivery technologies, more novel approaches are being investigated for controlled gene delivery. DNA encapsulated in nano/micro spheres of polymers have been administered systemically/orally to be taken up by the targeted tissues and provide sustained release once internalized. Alternatively, DNA entrapped in hydrogels or scaffolds have been injected/implanted in tissues/cavities as platforms for gene delivery. The present review examines these different modalities for sustained delivery of viral and non-viral gene-delivery vectors. Design parameters and release mechanisms of different systems made with synthetic or natural polymers are presented along with their prospective applications and opportunities for continuous development.

  12. Morphological features of the macerated cranial bones registered by the 3D vision system for potential use in forensic anthropology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skrzat, Janusz; Sioma, Andrzej; Kozerska, Magdalena

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we present potential usage of the 3D vision system for registering features of the macerated cranial bones. Applied 3D vision system collects height profiles of the object surface and from that data builds a three-dimensional image of the surface. This method appeared to be accurate enough to capture anatomical details of the macerated bones. With the aid of the 3D vision system we generated images of the surface of the human calvaria which was used for testing the system. Performed reconstruction visualized the imprints of the dural vascular system, cranial sutures, and the three-layer structure of the cranial bones observed in the cross-section. We figure out that the 3D vision system may deliver data which can enhance estimation of sex from the osteological material.

  13. Vision system for measuring wagon buffers’ lateral movements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barjaktarović Marko

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a vision system designed for measuring horizontal and vertical displacements of a railway wagon body. The model comprises a commercial webcam and a cooperative target of an appropriate shape. The lateral buffer movement is determined by calculating target displacement in real time by processing the camera image in a LabVIEW platform using free OpenCV library. Laboratory experiments demonstrate an accuracy which is better than ±0.5 mm within a 50 mm measuring range.

  14. A Practical Solution Using A New Approach To Robot Vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson, David L.

    1984-01-01

    Up to now, robot vision systems have been designed to serve both application development and operational needs in inspection, assembly and material handling. This universal approach to robot vision is too costly for many practical applications. A new industrial vision system separates the function of application program development from on-line operation. A Vision Development System (VDS) is equipped with facilities designed to simplify and accelerate the application program development process. A complimentary but lower cost Target Application System (TASK) runs the application program developed with the VDS. This concept is presented in the context of an actual robot vision application that improves inspection and assembly for a manufacturer of electronic terminal keyboards. Applications developed with a VDS experience lower development cost when compared with conventional vision systems. Since the TASK processor is not burdened with development tools, it can be installed at a lower cost than comparable "universal" vision systems that are intended to be used for both development and on-line operation. The VDS/TASK approach opens more industrial applications to robot vision that previously were not practical because of the high cost of vision systems. Although robot vision is a new technology, it has been applied successfully to a variety of industrial needs in inspection, manufacturing, and material handling. New developments in robot vision technology are creating practical, cost effective solutions for a variety of industrial needs. A year or two ago, researchers and robot manufacturers interested in implementing a robot vision application could take one of two approaches. The first approach was to purchase all the necessary vision components from various sources. That meant buying an image processor from one company, a camera from another and lens and light sources from yet others. The user then had to assemble the pieces, and in most instances he had to write

  15. Integrative systems and synthetic biology of cell-matrix adhesion sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zamir, Eli

    2016-09-02

    The complexity of cell-matrix adhesion convolves its roles in the development and functioning of multicellular organisms and their evolutionary tinkering. Cell-matrix adhesion is mediated by sites along the plasma membrane that anchor the actin cytoskeleton to the matrix via a large number of proteins, collectively called the integrin adhesome. Fundamental challenges for understanding how cell-matrix adhesion sites assemble and function arise from their multi-functionality, rapid dynamics, large number of components and molecular diversity. Systems biology faces these challenges in its strive to understand how the integrin adhesome gives rise to functional adhesion sites. Synthetic biology enables engineering intracellular modules and circuits with properties of interest. In this review I discuss some of the fundamental questions in systems biology of cell-matrix adhesion and how synthetic biology can help addressing them.

  16. Data fusion for a vision-aided radiological detection system: Calibration algorithm performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stadnikia, Kelsey; Henderson, Kristofer; Martin, Allan; Riley, Phillip; Koppal, Sanjeev; Enqvist, Andreas

    2018-05-01

    In order to improve the ability to detect, locate, track and identify nuclear/radiological threats, the University of Florida nuclear detection community has teamed up with the 3D vision community to collaborate on a low cost data fusion system. The key is to develop an algorithm to fuse the data from multiple radiological and 3D vision sensors as one system. The system under development at the University of Florida is being assessed with various types of radiological detectors and widely available visual sensors. A series of experiments were devised utilizing two EJ-309 liquid organic scintillation detectors (one primary and one secondary), a Microsoft Kinect for Windows v2 sensor and a Velodyne HDL-32E High Definition LiDAR Sensor which is a highly sensitive vision sensor primarily used to generate data for self-driving cars. Each experiment consisted of 27 static measurements of a source arranged in a cube with three different distances in each dimension. The source used was Cf-252. The calibration algorithm developed is utilized to calibrate the relative 3D-location of the two different types of sensors without need to measure it by hand; thus, preventing operator manipulation and human errors. The algorithm can also account for the facility dependent deviation from ideal data fusion correlation. Use of the vision sensor to determine the location of a sensor would also limit the possible locations and it does not allow for room dependence (facility dependent deviation) to generate a detector pseudo-location to be used for data analysis later. Using manually measured source location data, our algorithm-predicted the offset detector location within an average of 20 cm calibration-difference to its actual location. Calibration-difference is the Euclidean distance from the algorithm predicted detector location to the measured detector location. The Kinect vision sensor data produced an average calibration-difference of 35 cm and the HDL-32E produced an average

  17. Multi-Camera and Structured-Light Vision System (MSVS for Dynamic High-Accuracy 3D Measurements of Railway Tunnels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dong Zhan

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Railway tunnel 3D clearance inspection is critical to guaranteeing railway operation safety. However, it is a challenge to inspect railway tunnel 3D clearance using a vision system, because both the spatial range and field of view (FOV of such measurements are quite large. This paper summarizes our work on dynamic railway tunnel 3D clearance inspection based on a multi-camera and structured-light vision system (MSVS. First, the configuration of the MSVS is described. Then, the global calibration for the MSVS is discussed in detail. The onboard vision system is mounted on a dedicated vehicle and is expected to suffer from multiple degrees of freedom vibrations brought about by the running vehicle. Any small vibration can result in substantial measurement errors. In order to overcome this problem, a vehicle motion deviation rectifying method is investigated. Experiments using the vision inspection system are conducted with satisfactory online measurement results.

  18. Automatic Parking Based on a Bird's Eye View Vision System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunxiang Wang

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims at realizing an automatic parking method through a bird's eye view vision system. With this method, vehicles can make robust and real-time detection and recognition of parking spaces. During parking process, the omnidirectional information of the environment can be obtained by using four on-board fisheye cameras around the vehicle, which are the main part of the bird's eye view vision system. In order to achieve this purpose, a polynomial fisheye distortion model is firstly used for camera calibration. An image mosaicking method based on the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm is used to combine four individual images from fisheye cameras into one omnidirectional bird's eye view image. Secondly, features of the parking spaces are extracted with a Radon transform based method. Finally, double circular trajectory planning and a preview control strategy are utilized to realize autonomous parking. Through experimental analysis, we can see that the proposed method can get effective and robust real-time results in both parking space recognition and automatic parking.

  19. Container-code recognition system based on computer vision and deep neural networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yi; Li, Tianjian; Jiang, Li; Liang, Xiaoyao

    2018-04-01

    Automatic container-code recognition system becomes a crucial requirement for ship transportation industry in recent years. In this paper, an automatic container-code recognition system based on computer vision and deep neural networks is proposed. The system consists of two modules, detection module and recognition module. The detection module applies both algorithms based on computer vision and neural networks, and generates a better detection result through combination to avoid the drawbacks of the two methods. The combined detection results are also collected for online training of the neural networks. The recognition module exploits both character segmentation and end-to-end recognition, and outputs the recognition result which passes the verification. When the recognition module generates false recognition, the result will be corrected and collected for online training of the end-to-end recognition sub-module. By combining several algorithms, the system is able to deal with more situations, and the online training mechanism can improve the performance of the neural networks at runtime. The proposed system is able to achieve 93% of overall recognition accuracy.

  20. VISION User Guide - VISION (Verifiable Fuel Cycle Simulation) Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacobson, Jacob J.; Jeffers, Robert F.; Matthern, Gretchen E.; Piet, Steven J.; Baker, Benjamin A.; Grimm, Joseph

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this document is to provide a guide for using the current version of the Verifiable Fuel Cycle Simulation (VISION) model. This is a complex model with many parameters; the user is strongly encouraged to read this user guide before attempting to run the model. This model is an R and D work in progress and may contain errors and omissions. It is based upon numerous assumptions. This model is intended to assist in evaluating 'what if' scenarios and in comparing fuel, reactor, and fuel processing alternatives at a systems level for U.S. nuclear power. The model is not intended as a tool for process flow and design modeling of specific facilities nor for tracking individual units of fuel or other material through the system. The model is intended to examine the interactions among the components of a fuel system as a function of time varying system parameters; this model represents a dynamic rather than steady-state approximation of the nuclear fuel system. VISION models the nuclear cycle at the system level, not individual facilities, e.g., 'reactor types' not individual reactors and 'separation types' not individual separation plants. Natural uranium can be enriched, which produces enriched uranium, which goes into fuel fabrication, and depleted uranium (DU), which goes into storage. Fuel is transformed (transmuted) in reactors and then goes into a storage buffer. Used fuel can be pulled from storage into either separation of disposal. If sent to separations, fuel is transformed (partitioned) into fuel products, recovered uranium, and various categories of waste. Recycled material is stored until used by its assigned reactor type. Note that recovered uranium is itself often partitioned: some RU flows with recycled transuranic elements, some flows with wastes, and the rest is designated RU. RU comes out of storage if needed to correct the U/TRU ratio in new recycled fuel. Neither RU nor DU are designated as wastes. VISION is comprised of several Microsoft

  1. Generation method of synthetic training data for mobile OCR system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chernyshova, Yulia S.; Gayer, Alexander V.; Sheshkus, Alexander V.

    2018-04-01

    This paper addresses one of the fundamental problems of machine learning - training data acquiring. Obtaining enough natural training data is rather difficult and expensive. In last years usage of synthetic images has become more beneficial as it allows to save human time and also to provide a huge number of images which otherwise would be difficult to obtain. However, for successful learning on artificial dataset one should try to reduce the gap between natural and synthetic data distributions. In this paper we describe an algorithm which allows to create artificial training datasets for OCR systems using russian passport as a case study.

  2. Leaf LIMS: A Flexible Laboratory Information Management System with a Synthetic Biology Focus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Craig, Thomas; Holland, Richard; D'Amore, Rosalinda; Johnson, James R; McCue, Hannah V; West, Anthony; Zulkower, Valentin; Tekotte, Hille; Cai, Yizhi; Swan, Daniel; Davey, Robert P; Hertz-Fowler, Christiane; Hall, Anthony; Caddick, Mark

    2017-12-15

    This paper presents Leaf LIMS, a flexible laboratory information management system (LIMS) designed to address the complexity of synthetic biology workflows. At the project's inception there was a lack of a LIMS designed specifically to address synthetic biology processes, with most systems focused on either next generation sequencing or biobanks and clinical sample handling. Leaf LIMS implements integrated project, item, and laboratory stock tracking, offering complete sample and construct genealogy, materials and lot tracking, and modular assay data capture. Hence, it enables highly configurable task-based workflows and supports data capture from project inception to completion. As such, in addition to it supporting synthetic biology it is ideal for many laboratory environments with multiple projects and users. The system is deployed as a web application through Docker and is provided under a permissive MIT license. It is freely available for download at https://leaflims.github.io .

  3. Low-Power Smart Imagers for Vision-Enabled Sensor Networks

    CERN Document Server

    Fernández-Berni, Jorge; Rodríguez-Vázquez, Ángel

    2012-01-01

    This book presents a comprehensive, systematic approach to the development of vision system architectures that employ sensory-processing concurrency and parallel processing to meet the autonomy challenges posed by a variety of safety and surveillance applications.  Coverage includes a thorough analysis of resistive diffusion networks embedded within an image sensor array. This analysis supports a systematic approach to the design of spatial image filters and their implementation as vision chips in CMOS technology. The book also addresses system-level considerations pertaining to the embedding of these vision chips into vision-enabled wireless sensor networks.  Describes a system-level approach for designing of vision devices and  embedding them into vision-enabled, wireless sensor networks; Surveys state-of-the-art, vision-enabled WSN nodes; Includes details of specifications and challenges of vision-enabled WSNs; Explains architectures for low-energy CMOS vision chips with embedded, programmable spatial f...

  4. Research on robot navigation vision sensor based on grating projection stereo vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiaoling; Luo, Yinsheng; Lin, Yuchi; Zhu, Lei

    2016-10-01

    A novel visual navigation method based on grating projection stereo vision for mobile robot in dark environment is proposed. This method is combining with grating projection profilometry of plane structured light and stereo vision technology. It can be employed to realize obstacle detection, SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) and vision odometry for mobile robot navigation in dark environment without the image match in stereo vision technology and without phase unwrapping in the grating projection profilometry. First, we research the new vision sensor theoretical, and build geometric and mathematical model of the grating projection stereo vision system. Second, the computational method of 3D coordinates of space obstacle in the robot's visual field is studied, and then the obstacles in the field is located accurately. The result of simulation experiment and analysis shows that this research is useful to break the current autonomous navigation problem of mobile robot in dark environment, and to provide the theoretical basis and exploration direction for further study on navigation of space exploring robot in the dark and without GPS environment.

  5. Computer vision as an alternative for collision detection

    OpenAIRE

    Drangsholt, Marius Aarvik

    2015-01-01

    The goal of this thesis was to implement a computer vision system on a low power platform, to see if that could be an alternative for a collision detection system. To achieve this, research into fundamentals in computer vision were performed, and both hardware and software implementation were carried out. To create the computer vision system, a stereo rig were constructed using low cost Logitech webcameras, and connected to a Raspberry Pi 2 development board. The computer vision library Op...

  6. Informing biological design by integration of systems and synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smolke, Christina D; Silver, Pamela A

    2011-03-18

    Synthetic biology aims to make the engineering of biology faster and more predictable. In contrast, systems biology focuses on the interaction of myriad components and how these give rise to the dynamic and complex behavior of biological systems. Here, we examine the synergies between these two fields. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. A Ship Cargo Hold Inspection Approach Using Laser Vision Systems

    OpenAIRE

    SHEN Yang; ZHAO Ning; LIU Haiwei; MI Chao

    2013-01-01

    Our paper represents a vision system based on the laser measurement system (LMS) for bulk ship inspection. The LMS scanner with 2-axis servo system is installed on the ship loader to build the shape of the ship. Then, a group of real-time image processing algorithms are implemented to compute the shape of the cargo hold, the inclination angle of the ship and the relative position between the ship loader and the cargo hold. Based on those computed inspection data of the ship, the ship loader c...

  8. Visions, Scenarios and Action Plans Towards Next Generation Tanzania Power System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex Kyaruzi

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents strategic visions, scenarios and action plans for enhancing Tanzania Power Systems towards next generation Smart Power Grid. It first introduces the present Tanzanian power grid and the challenges ahead in terms of generation capacity, financial aspect, technical and non-technical losses, revenue loss, high tariff, aging infrastructure, environmental impact and the interconnection with the neighboring countries. Then, the current initiatives undertaken by the Tanzania government in response to the present challenges and the expected roles of smart grid in overcoming these challenges in the future with respect to the scenarios presented are discussed. The developed scenarios along with visions and recommended action plans towards the future Tanzanian power system can be exploited at all governmental levels to achieve public policy goals and help develop business opportunities by motivating domestic and international investments in modernizing the nation’s electric power infrastructure. In return, it should help build the green energy economy.

  9. International Border Management Systems (IBMS) Program : visions and strategies.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McDaniel, Michael; Mohagheghi, Amir Hossein

    2011-02-01

    Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), International Border Management Systems (IBMS) Program is working to establish a long-term border security strategy with United States Central Command (CENTCOM). Efforts are being made to synthesize border security capabilities and technologies maintained at the Laboratories, and coordinate with subject matter expertise from both the New Mexico and California offices. The vision for SNL is to provide science and technology support for international projects and engagements on border security.

  10. Vision Assessment and Prescription of Low Vision Devices

    OpenAIRE

    Keeffe, Jill

    2004-01-01

    Assessment of vision and prescription of low vision devices are part of a comprehensive low vision service. Other components of the service include training the person affected by low vision in use of vision and other senses, mobility, activities of daily living, and support for education, employment or leisure activities. Specialist vision rehabilitation agencies have services to provide access to information (libraries) and activity centres for groups of people with impaired vision.

  11. Intelligent Computer Vision System for Automated Classification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jordanov, Ivan; Georgieva, Antoniya

    2010-01-01

    In this paper we investigate an Intelligent Computer Vision System applied for recognition and classification of commercially available cork tiles. The system is capable of acquiring and processing gray images using several feature generation and analysis techniques. Its functionality includes image acquisition, feature extraction and preprocessing, and feature classification with neural networks (NN). We also discuss system test and validation results from the recognition and classification tasks. The system investigation also includes statistical feature processing (features number and dimensionality reduction techniques) and classifier design (NN architecture, target coding, learning complexity and performance, and training with our own metaheuristic optimization method). The NNs trained with our genetic low-discrepancy search method (GLPτS) for global optimisation demonstrated very good generalisation abilities. In our view, the reported testing success rate of up to 95% is due to several factors: combination of feature generation techniques; application of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), which appeared to be very efficient for preprocessing the data; and use of suitable NN design and learning method.

  12. Applications of AI, machine vision and robotics

    CERN Document Server

    Boyer, Kim; Bunke, H

    1995-01-01

    This text features a broad array of research efforts in computer vision including low level processing, perceptual organization, object recognition and active vision. The volume's nine papers specifically report on topics such as sensor confidence, low level feature extraction schemes, non-parametric multi-scale curve smoothing, integration of geometric and non-geometric attributes for object recognition, design criteria for a four degree-of-freedom robot head, a real-time vision system based on control of visual attention and a behavior-based active eye vision system. The scope of the book pr

  13. Demo : an embedded vision system for high frame rate visual servoing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ye, Z.; He, Y.; Pieters, R.S.; Mesman, B.; Corporaal, H.; Jonker, P.P.

    2011-01-01

    The frame rate of commercial off-the-shelf industrial cameras is breaking the threshold of 1000 frames-per-second, the sample rate required in high performance motion control systems. On the one hand, it enables computer vision as a cost-effective feedback source; On the other hand, it imposes

  14. Research into the Architecture of CAD Based Robot Vision Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    1988-02-09

    Vision 󈨚 and "Automatic Generation of Recognition Features for Com- puter Vision," Mudge, Turney and Volz, published in Robotica (1987). All of the...Occluded Parts," (T.N. Mudge, J.L. Turney, and R.A. Volz), Robotica , vol. 5, 1987, pp. 117-127. 5. "Vision Algorithms for Hypercube Machines," (T.N. Mudge

  15. Vision Problems in Homeless Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Natalie L; Smith, Thomas J; DeSantis, Diana; Suhocki, Marissa; Fenske, Danielle

    2015-08-01

    Vision problems in homeless children can decrease educational achievement and quality of life. To estimate the prevalence and specific diagnoses of vision problems in children in an urban homeless shelter. A prospective series of 107 homeless children and teenagers who underwent screening with a vision questionnaire, eye chart screening (if mature enough) and if vision problem suspected, evaluation by a pediatric ophthalmologist. Glasses and other therapeutic interventions were provided if necessary. The prevalence of vision problems in this population was 25%. Common diagnoses included astigmatism, amblyopia, anisometropia, myopia, and hyperopia. Glasses were required and provided for 24 children (22%). Vision problems in homeless children are common and frequently correctable with ophthalmic intervention. Evaluation by pediatric ophthalmologist is crucial for accurate diagnoses and treatment. Our system of screening and evaluation is feasible, efficacious, and reproducible in other homeless care situations.

  16. Frequency Stability Enhancement for Low Inertia Systems using Synthetic Inertia of Wind Power

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nguyen, Ha Thi; Yang, Guangya; Nielsen, Arne Hejde

    2017-01-01

    stability, this paper proposes supplementary control methods to implement synthetic inertia for doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) based wind energy system during frequency excursions. Different control strategies and activation schemes are analyzed and implemented on the Western Danish renewable......-based system using-real time digital simulator (RTDS) to propose the best one for the synthetic inertia controller. From the comparative simulation results, it can be concluded that the method using a combination of both the frequency deviation and derivative as input signals, and the under-frequency trigger...

  17. UE4Sim: A Photo-Realistic Simulator for Computer Vision Applications

    KAUST Repository

    Mueller, Matthias; Casser, Vincent; Lahoud, Jean; Smith, Neil; Ghanem, Bernard

    2017-01-01

    We present a photo-realistic training and evaluation simulator (UE4Sim) with extensive applications across various fields of computer vision. Built on top of the Unreal Engine, the simulator integrates full featured physics based cars, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and animated human actors in diverse urban and suburban 3D environments. We demonstrate the versatility of the simulator with two case studies: autonomous UAV-based tracking of moving objects and autonomous driving using supervised learning. The simulator fully integrates both several state-of-the-art tracking algorithms with a benchmark evaluation tool and a deep neural network (DNN) architecture for training vehicles to drive autonomously. It generates synthetic photo-realistic datasets with automatic ground truth annotations to easily extend existing real-world datasets and provides extensive synthetic data variety through its ability to reconfigure synthetic worlds on the fly using an automatic world generation tool.

  18. UE4Sim: A Photo-Realistic Simulator for Computer Vision Applications

    KAUST Repository

    Mueller, Matthias

    2017-08-19

    We present a photo-realistic training and evaluation simulator (UE4Sim) with extensive applications across various fields of computer vision. Built on top of the Unreal Engine, the simulator integrates full featured physics based cars, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and animated human actors in diverse urban and suburban 3D environments. We demonstrate the versatility of the simulator with two case studies: autonomous UAV-based tracking of moving objects and autonomous driving using supervised learning. The simulator fully integrates both several state-of-the-art tracking algorithms with a benchmark evaluation tool and a deep neural network (DNN) architecture for training vehicles to drive autonomously. It generates synthetic photo-realistic datasets with automatic ground truth annotations to easily extend existing real-world datasets and provides extensive synthetic data variety through its ability to reconfigure synthetic worlds on the fly using an automatic world generation tool.

  19. Sim4CV: A Photo-Realistic Simulator for Computer Vision Applications

    KAUST Repository

    Müller, Matthias

    2018-03-24

    We present a photo-realistic training and evaluation simulator (Sim4CV) (http://www.sim4cv.org) with extensive applications across various fields of computer vision. Built on top of the Unreal Engine, the simulator integrates full featured physics based cars, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and animated human actors in diverse urban and suburban 3D environments. We demonstrate the versatility of the simulator with two case studies: autonomous UAV-based tracking of moving objects and autonomous driving using supervised learning. The simulator fully integrates both several state-of-the-art tracking algorithms with a benchmark evaluation tool and a deep neural network architecture for training vehicles to drive autonomously. It generates synthetic photo-realistic datasets with automatic ground truth annotations to easily extend existing real-world datasets and provides extensive synthetic data variety through its ability to reconfigure synthetic worlds on the fly using an automatic world generation tool.

  20. Night vision: changing the way we drive

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klapper, Stuart H.; Kyle, Robert J. S.; Nicklin, Robert L.; Kormos, Alexander L.

    2001-03-01

    A revolutionary new Night Vision System has been designed to help drivers see well beyond their headlights. From luxury automobiles to heavy trucks, Night Vision is helping drivers see better, see further, and react sooner. This paper describes how Night Vision Systems are being used in transportation and their viability for the future. It describes recent improvements to the system currently in the second year of production. It also addresses consumer education and awareness, cost reduction, product reliability, market expansion and future improvements.

  1. SAD-Based Stereo Vision Machine on a System-on-Programmable-Chip (SoPC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiang; Chen, Zhangwei

    2013-01-01

    This paper, proposes a novel solution for a stereo vision machine based on the System-on-Programmable-Chip (SoPC) architecture. The SOPC technology provides great convenience for accessing many hardware devices such as DDRII, SSRAM, Flash, etc., by IP reuse. The system hardware is implemented in a single FPGA chip involving a 32-bit Nios II microprocessor, which is a configurable soft IP core in charge of managing the image buffer and users' configuration data. The Sum of Absolute Differences (SAD) algorithm is used for dense disparity map computation. The circuits of the algorithmic module are modeled by the Matlab-based DSP Builder. With a set of configuration interfaces, the machine can process many different sizes of stereo pair images. The maximum image size is up to 512 K pixels. This machine is designed to focus on real time stereo vision applications. The stereo vision machine offers good performance and high efficiency in real time. Considering a hardware FPGA clock of 90 MHz, 23 frames of 640 × 480 disparity maps can be obtained in one second with 5 × 5 matching window and maximum 64 disparity pixels. PMID:23459385

  2. Machine Vision-Based Measurement Systems for Fruit and Vegetable Quality Control in Postharvest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blasco, José; Munera, Sandra; Aleixos, Nuria; Cubero, Sergio; Molto, Enrique

    Individual items of any agricultural commodity are different from each other in terms of colour, shape or size. Furthermore, as they are living thing, they change their quality attributes over time, thereby making the development of accurate automatic inspection machines a challenging task. Machine vision-based systems and new optical technologies make it feasible to create non-destructive control and monitoring tools for quality assessment to ensure adequate accomplishment of food standards. Such systems are much faster than any manual non-destructive examination of fruit and vegetable quality, thus allowing the whole production to be inspected with objective and repeatable criteria. Moreover, current technology makes it possible to inspect the fruit in spectral ranges beyond the sensibility of the human eye, for instance in the ultraviolet and near-infrared regions. Machine vision-based applications require the use of multiple technologies and knowledge, ranging from those related to image acquisition (illumination, cameras, etc.) to the development of algorithms for spectral image analysis. Machine vision-based systems for inspecting fruit and vegetables are targeted towards different purposes, from in-line sorting into commercial categories to the detection of contaminants or the distribution of specific chemical compounds on the product's surface. This chapter summarises the current state of the art in these techniques, starting with systems based on colour images for the inspection of conventional colour, shape or external defects and then goes on to consider recent developments in spectral image analysis for internal quality assessment or contaminant detection.

  3. Development of machine vision system for PHWR fuel pellet inspection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kamalesh Kumar, B.; Reddy, K.S.; Lakshminarayana, A.; Sastry, V.S.; Ramana Rao, A.V. [Nuclear Fuel Complex, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (India); Joshi, M.; Deshpande, P.; Navathe, C.P.; Jayaraj, R.N. [Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore, Madhya Pradesh (India)

    2008-07-01

    Nuclear Fuel Complex, a constituent of Department of Atomic Energy; India is responsible for manufacturing nuclear fuel in India . Over a million Uranium-di-oxide pellets fabricated per annum need visual inspection . In order to overcome the limitations of human based visual inspection, NFC has undertaken the development of machine vision system. The development involved designing various subsystems viz. mechanical and control subsystem for handling and rotation of fuel pellets, lighting subsystem for illumination, image acquisition system, and image processing system and integration. This paper brings out details of various subsystems and results obtained from the trials conducted. (author)

  4. From noise to synthetic nucleoli: can synthetic biology achieve new insights?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciechonska, Marta; Grob, Alice; Isalan, Mark

    2016-04-18

    Synthetic biology aims to re-organise and control biological components to make functional devices. Along the way, the iterative process of designing and testing gene circuits has the potential to yield many insights into the functioning of the underlying chassis of cells. Thus, synthetic biology is converging with disciplines such as systems biology and even classical cell biology, to give a new level of predictability to gene expression, cell metabolism and cellular signalling networks. This review gives an overview of the contributions that synthetic biology has made in understanding gene expression, in terms of cell heterogeneity (noise), the coupling of growth and energy usage to expression, and spatiotemporal considerations. We mainly compare progress in bacterial and mammalian systems, which have some of the most-developed engineering frameworks. Overall, one view of synthetic biology can be neatly summarised as "creating in order to understand."

  5. Cost-Effective Video Filtering Solution for Real-Time Vision Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karl Martin

    2005-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an efficient video filtering scheme and its implementation in a field-programmable logic device (FPLD. Since the proposed nonlinear, spatiotemporal filtering scheme is based on order statistics, its efficient implementation benefits from a bit-serial realization. The utilization of both the spatial and temporal correlation characteristics of the processed video significantly increases the computational demands on this solution, and thus, implementation becomes a significant challenge. Simulation studies reported in this paper indicate that the proposed pipelined bit-serial FPLD filtering solution can achieve speeds of up to 97.6 Mpixels/s and consumes 1700 to 2700 logic cells for the speed-optimized and area-optimized versions, respectively. Thus, the filter area represents only 6.6 to 10.5% of the Altera STRATIX EP1S25 device available on the Altera Stratix DSP evaluation board, which has been used to implement a prototype of the entire real-time vision system. As such, the proposed adaptive video filtering scheme is both practical and attractive for real-time machine vision and surveillance systems as well as conventional video and multimedia applications.

  6. Performance Evaluation of a Synthetic Aperture Real-Time Ultrasound System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stuart, Matthias Bo; Tomov, Borislav Gueorguiev; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

    2011-01-01

    This paper evaluates the signal-to-noise ratio, the time stability, and the phase difference of the sampling in the experimental ultrasound scanner SARUS: A synthetic aperture, real-time ultrasound system. SARUS has 1024 independent transmit and receive channels and is capable of handling 2D probes...... arrays (FPGAs) making it very flexible and allowing implementation of other real-time ultrasound processing methods in the future. For conventional B-mode imaging, a penetration depth around 7 cm for a 7 MHz transducer is obtained (signal-tonoise ratio of 0 dB), which is comparable to commercial...... for 3D ultrasound imaging. It samples at 12 bits per sample and has a sampling rate of 70 MHz with the possibility of decimating the sampling frequency at the input. SARUS is capable of advanced real-time computations such as synthetic aperture imaging. The system is built using fieldprogrammable gate...

  7. Dense image correspondences for computer vision

    CERN Document Server

    Liu, Ce

    2016-01-01

    This book describes the fundamental building-block of many new computer vision systems: dense and robust correspondence estimation. Dense correspondence estimation techniques are now successfully being used to solve a wide range of computer vision problems, very different from the traditional applications such techniques were originally developed to solve. This book introduces the techniques used for establishing correspondences between challenging image pairs, the novel features used to make these techniques robust, and the many problems dense correspondences are now being used to solve. The book provides information to anyone attempting to utilize dense correspondences in order to solve new or existing computer vision problems. The editors describe how to solve many computer vision problems by using dense correspondence estimation. Finally, it surveys resources, code, and data necessary for expediting the development of effective correspondence-based computer vision systems.   ·         Provides i...

  8. Comparison of a multispectral vision system and a colorimeter for the assessment of meat color.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trinderup, Camilla H; Dahl, Anders; Jensen, Kirsten; Carstensen, Jens Michael; Conradsen, Knut

    2015-04-01

    The color assessment ability of a multispectral vision system is investigated by a comparison study with color measurements from a traditional colorimeter. The experiment involves fresh and processed meat samples. Meat is a complex material; heterogeneous with varying scattering and reflectance properties, so several factors can influence the instrumental assessment of meat color. In order to assess whether two methods are equivalent, the variation due to these factors must be taken into account. A statistical analysis was conducted and showed that on a calibration sheet the two instruments are equally capable of measuring color. Moreover the vision system provides a more color rich assessment of fresh meat samples with a glossier surface, than the colorimeter. Careful studies of the different sources of variation enable an assessment of the order of magnitude of the variability between methods accounting for other sources of variation leading to the conclusion that color assessment using a multispectral vision system is superior to traditional colorimeter assessments. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. A Flexible Fringe Projection Vision System with Extended Mathematical Model for Accurate Three-Dimensional Measurement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Suzhi; Tao, Wei; Zhao, Hui

    2016-04-28

    In order to acquire an accurate three-dimensional (3D) measurement, the traditional fringe projection technique applies complex and laborious procedures to compensate for the errors that exist in the vision system. However, the error sources in the vision system are very complex, such as lens distortion, lens defocus, and fringe pattern nonsinusoidality. Some errors cannot even be explained or rendered with clear expressions and are difficult to compensate directly as a result. In this paper, an approach is proposed that avoids the complex and laborious compensation procedure for error sources but still promises accurate 3D measurement. It is realized by the mathematical model extension technique. The parameters of the extended mathematical model for the 'phase to 3D coordinates transformation' are derived using the least-squares parameter estimation algorithm. In addition, a phase-coding method based on a frequency analysis is proposed for the absolute phase map retrieval to spatially isolated objects. The results demonstrate the validity and the accuracy of the proposed flexible fringe projection vision system on spatially continuous and discontinuous objects for 3D measurement.

  10. Gesture Therapy: A Vision-Based System for Arm Rehabilitation after Stroke

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sucar, L. Enrique; Azcárate, Gildardo; Leder, Ron S.; Reinkensmeyer, David; Hernández, Jorge; Sanchez, Israel; Saucedo, Pedro

    Each year millions of people in the world survive a stroke, in the U.S. alone the figure is over 600,000 people per year. Movement impairments after stroke are typically treated with intensive, hands-on physical and occupational therapy for several weeks after the initial injury. However, due to economic pressures, stroke patients are receiving less therapy and going home sooner, so the potential benefit of the therapy is not completely realized. Thus, it is important to develop rehabilitation technology that allows individuals who had suffered a stroke to practice intensive movement training without the expense of an always-present therapist. Current solutions are too expensive, as they require a robotic system for rehabilitation. We have developed a low-cost, computer vision system that allows individuals with stroke to practice arm movement exercises at home or at the clinic, with periodic interactions with a therapist. The system integrates a web based virtual environment for facilitating repetitive movement training, with state-of-the art computer vision algorithms that track the hand of a patient and obtain its 3-D coordinates, using two inexpensive cameras and a conventional personal computer. An initial prototype of the system has been evaluated in a pilot clinical study with promising results.

  11. Using Scenario Visioning and Participatory System Dynamics Modeling to Investigate the Future: Lessons from Minnesota 2050

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathryn J. Draeger

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Both scenario visioning and participatory system dynamics modeling emphasize the dynamic and uncontrollable nature of complex socio-ecological systems, and the significance of multiple feedback mechanisms. These two methodologies complement one another, but are rarely used together. We partnered with regional organizations in Minnesota to design a future visioning process that incorporated both scenarios and participatory system dynamics modeling. The three purposes of this exercise were: first, to assist regional leaders in making strategic decisions that would make their communities sustainable; second, to identify research gaps that could impede the ability of regional and state groups to plan for the future; and finally, to introduce more systems thinking into planning and policy-making around environmental issues. We found that scenarios and modeling complemented one another, and that both techniques allowed regional groups to focus on the sustainability of fundamental support systems (energy, food, and water supply. The process introduced some creative tensions between imaginative scenario visioning and quantitative system dynamics modeling, and between creating desired futures (a strong cultural norm and inhabiting the future (a premise of the Minnesota 2050 exercise. We suggest that these tensions can stimulate more agile, strategic thinking about the future.

  12. Vision-based markerless registration using stereo vision and an augmented reality surgical navigation system: a pilot study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suenaga, Hideyuki; Tran, Huy Hoang; Liao, Hongen; Masamune, Ken; Dohi, Takeyoshi; Hoshi, Kazuto; Takato, Tsuyoshi

    2015-01-01

    This study evaluated the use of an augmented reality navigation system that provides a markerless registration system using stereo vision in oral and maxillofacial surgery. A feasibility study was performed on a subject, wherein a stereo camera was used for tracking and markerless registration. The computed tomography data obtained from the volunteer was used to create an integral videography image and a 3-dimensional rapid prototype model of the jaw. The overlay of the subject’s anatomic site and its 3D-IV image were displayed in real space using a 3D-AR display. Extraction of characteristic points and teeth matching were done using parallax images from two stereo cameras for patient-image registration. Accurate registration of the volunteer’s anatomy with IV stereoscopic images via image matching was done using the fully automated markerless system, which recognized the incisal edges of the teeth and captured information pertaining to their position with an average target registration error of < 1 mm. These 3D-CT images were then displayed in real space with high accuracy using AR. Even when the viewing position was changed, the 3D images could be observed as if they were floating in real space without using special glasses. Teeth were successfully used for registration via 3D image (contour) matching. This system, without using references or fiducial markers, displayed 3D-CT images in real space with high accuracy. The system provided real-time markerless registration and 3D image matching via stereo vision, which, combined with AR, could have significant clinical applications. The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12880-015-0089-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

  13. Vision, spatial cognition and intellectual disability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giuliani, Fabienne; Schenk, Françoise

    2015-02-01

    Vision is the most synthetic sensory channel and it provides specific information about the relative position of distant landmarks during visual exploration. In this paper we propose that visual exploration, as assessed by the recording of eye movements, offers an original method to analyze spatial cognition and to reveal alternative adaptation strategies in people with intellectual disabilities (ID). Our general assumption is that eye movement exploration may simultaneously reveal whether, why, and how, compensatory strategies point to specific difficulties related to neurological symptoms. An understanding of these strategies will also help in the development of optimal rehabilitation procedures. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Implementation of Automatic Focusing Algorithms for a Computer Vision System with Camera Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1983-08-15

    obtainable from real data, rather than relying on a stock database. Often, computer vision and image processing algorithms become subconsciously tuned to...two coils on the same mount structure. Since it was not possible to reprogram the binary system, we turned to the POPEYE system for both its grey

  15. A low-cost machine vision system for the recognition and sorting of small parts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barea, Gustavo; Surgenor, Brian W.; Chauhan, Vedang; Joshi, Keyur D.

    2018-04-01

    An automated machine vision-based system for the recognition and sorting of small parts was designed, assembled and tested. The system was developed to address a need to expose engineering students to the issues of machine vision and assembly automation technology, with readily available and relatively low-cost hardware and software. This paper outlines the design of the system and presents experimental performance results. Three different styles of plastic gears, together with three different styles of defective gears, were used to test the system. A pattern matching tool was used for part classification. Nine experiments were conducted to demonstrate the effects of changing various hardware and software parameters, including: conveyor speed, gear feed rate, classification, and identification score thresholds. It was found that the system could achieve a maximum system accuracy of 95% at a feed rate of 60 parts/min, for a given set of parameter settings. Future work will be looking at the effect of lighting.

  16. Vision-aided inertial navigation system for robotic mobile mapping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayoud, Fadi; Skaloud, Jan

    2008-04-01

    A mapping system by vision-aided inertial navigation was developed for areas where GNSS signals are unreachable. In this framework, a methodology on the integration of vision and inertial sensors is presented, analysed and tested. The system employs the method of “SLAM: Simultaneous Localisation And Mapping” where the only external input available to the system at the beginning of the mapping mission is a number of features with known coordinates. SLAM is a term used in the robotics community to describe the problem of mapping the environment and at the same time using this map to determine the location of the mapping device. Differing from the robotics approach, the presented development stems from the frameworks of photogrammetry and kinematic geodesy that are merged in two filters that run in parallel: the Least-Squares Adjustment (LSA) for features coordinates determination and the Kalman filter (KF) for navigation correction. To test this approach, a mapping system-prototype comprising two CCD cameras and one Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) is introduced. Conceptually, the outputs of the LSA photogrammetric resection are used as the external measurements for the KF that corrects the inertial navigation. The filtered position and orientation are subsequently employed in the photogrammetric intersection to map the surrounding features that are used as control points for the resection in the next epoch. We confirm empirically the dependency of navigation performance on the quality of the images and the number of tracked features, as well as on the geometry of the stereo-pair. Due to its autonomous nature, the SLAM's performance is further affected by the quality of IMU initialisation and the a-priory assumptions on error distribution. Using the example of the presented system we show that centimetre accuracy can be achieved in both navigation and mapping when the image geometry is optimal.

  17. Computer and machine vision theory, algorithms, practicalities

    CERN Document Server

    Davies, E R

    2012-01-01

    Computer and Machine Vision: Theory, Algorithms, Practicalities (previously entitled Machine Vision) clearly and systematically presents the basic methodology of computer and machine vision, covering the essential elements of the theory while emphasizing algorithmic and practical design constraints. This fully revised fourth edition has brought in more of the concepts and applications of computer vision, making it a very comprehensive and up-to-date tutorial text suitable for graduate students, researchers and R&D engineers working in this vibrant subject. Key features include: Practical examples and case studies give the 'ins and outs' of developing real-world vision systems, giving engineers the realities of implementing the principles in practice New chapters containing case studies on surveillance and driver assistance systems give practical methods on these cutting-edge applications in computer vision Necessary mathematics and essential theory are made approachable by careful explanations and well-il...

  18. [Medical specialization in Chile. A centralized vision].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clouet-Huerta, Diego E; González, Bárbara; Correa, Katherine

    2017-11-01

    Medical graduates face different postgraduate training options, but their priority is to obtain a primary medical specialty, defined as a specialty that does not derive from other. There are different specialty training programs in Chile, which can be dependent or independent of the Ministry of Health. The information about these programs is available in different Internet sites. However a centralized information service that groups and synthetize these programs is lacking, hampering graduate choice decisions. This article aims to review all specialization program modalities, providing a general vision of the institutional structure and implications that govern the specialization process in Chile.

  19. Vision-based real-time position control of a semi-automated system for robot-assisted joint fracture surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dagnino, Giulio; Georgilas, Ioannis; Tarassoli, Payam; Atkins, Roger; Dogramadzi, Sanja

    2016-03-01

    Joint fracture surgery quality can be improved by robotic system with high-accuracy and high-repeatability fracture fragment manipulation. A new real-time vision-based system for fragment manipulation during robot-assisted fracture surgery was developed and tested. The control strategy was accomplished by merging fast open-loop control with vision-based control. This two-phase process is designed to eliminate the open-loop positioning errors by closing the control loop using visual feedback provided by an optical tracking system. Evaluation of the control system accuracy was performed using robot positioning trials, and fracture reduction accuracy was tested in trials on ex vivo porcine model. The system resulted in high fracture reduction reliability with a reduction accuracy of 0.09 mm (translations) and of [Formula: see text] (rotations), maximum observed errors in the order of 0.12 mm (translations) and of [Formula: see text] (rotations), and a reduction repeatability of 0.02 mm and [Formula: see text]. The proposed vision-based system was shown to be effective and suitable for real joint fracture surgical procedures, contributing a potential improvement of their quality.

  20. Erasing Borders: A Brief Chronicle of Early Synthetic Biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peretó, Juli

    2016-12-01

    Synthetic Biology is currently presented as an emergent field involving the application of engineering principles to living matter. However, the scientific pursuit of making life in a laboratory is not new and has been the ultimate, if somewhat distant, aim of the origin-of-life research program for many years. Actually, over a century ago, the idea that the synthesis of life was indispensable to fully understand its nature already appealed to material scientists and evolutionists alike. Jacques Loeb proposed a research program from an engineering standpoint, following a synthetic method (experimental abiogenesis) and based on his mechanist vision of living beings, which he considered true chemical machines. Early synthetic biology endeavors, such as the premature experiments by Alfonso L. Herrera in Mexico, Stéphane Leduc in France, and John B. Burke in United Kingdom, were easily ridiculed on both scientific and ideological grounds. However, in retrospect, all those attempts should be considered as legitimate and sincere anti-vitalistic efforts to cross the apparent border between inert and living matter.

  1. Artificial Vision, New Visual Modalities and Neuroadaptation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hilmi Or

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available To study the descriptions from which artificial vision derives, to explore the new visual modalities resulting from eye surgeries and diseases, and to gain awareness of the use of machine vision systems for both enhancement of visual perception and better understanding of neuroadaptation. Science could not define until today what vision is. However, some optical-based systems and definitions have been established considering some factors for the formation of seeing. The best known system includes Gabor filter and Gabor patch which work on edge perception, describing the visual perception in the best known way. These systems are used today in industry and technology of machines, robots and computers to provide their "seeing". These definitions are used beyond the machinery in humans for neuroadaptation in new visual modalities after some eye surgeries or to improve the quality of some already known visual modalities. Beside this, “the blindsight” -which was not known to exist until 35 years ago - can be stimulated with visual exercises. Gabor system is a description of visual perception definable in machine vision as well as in human visual perception. This system is used today in robotic vision. There are new visual modalities which arise after some eye surgeries or with the use of some visual optical devices. Also, blindsight is a different visual modality starting to be defined even though the exact etiology is not known. In all the new visual modalities, new vision stimulating therapies using the Gabor systems can be applied. (Turk J Oph thal mol 2012; 42: 61-5

  2. Coupon Test of an Elbow Component by Using Vision-based Measurement System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Sung Wan; Jeon, Bub Gyu; Choi, Hyoung Suk; Kim, Nam Sik

    2016-01-01

    Among the various methods to overcome this shortcoming, vision-based methods to measure the strain of a structure are being proposed and many studies are being conducted on them. The vision-based measurement method is a noncontact method for measuring displacement and strain of objects by comparing between images before and after deformation. This method offers such advantages as no limitations in the surface condition, temperature, and shape of objects, the possibility of full filed measurement, and the possibility of measuring the distribution of stress or defects of structures based on the measurement results of displacement and strain in a map. The strains were measured with various methods using images in coupon test and the measurements were compared. In the future, the validity of the algorithm will be compared using stain gauge and clip gage, and based on the results, the physical properties of materials will be measured using a vision-based measurement system. This will contribute to the evaluation of reliability and effectiveness which are required for investigating local damages

  3. Coupon Test of an Elbow Component by Using Vision-based Measurement System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Sung Wan; Jeon, Bub Gyu; Choi, Hyoung Suk; Kim, Nam Sik [Pusan National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    Among the various methods to overcome this shortcoming, vision-based methods to measure the strain of a structure are being proposed and many studies are being conducted on them. The vision-based measurement method is a noncontact method for measuring displacement and strain of objects by comparing between images before and after deformation. This method offers such advantages as no limitations in the surface condition, temperature, and shape of objects, the possibility of full filed measurement, and the possibility of measuring the distribution of stress or defects of structures based on the measurement results of displacement and strain in a map. The strains were measured with various methods using images in coupon test and the measurements were compared. In the future, the validity of the algorithm will be compared using stain gauge and clip gage, and based on the results, the physical properties of materials will be measured using a vision-based measurement system. This will contribute to the evaluation of reliability and effectiveness which are required for investigating local damages.

  4. Low Vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... USAJobs Home » Statistics and Data » Low Vision Listen Low Vision Low Vision Defined: Low Vision is defined as the best- ... Ethnicity 2010 U.S. Age-Specific Prevalence Rates for Low Vision by Age, and Race/Ethnicity Table for 2010 ...

  5. Cognitive vision system for control of dexterous prosthetic hands: Experimental evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Došen Strahinja

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Dexterous prosthetic hands that were developed recently, such as SmartHand and i-LIMB, are highly sophisticated; they have individually controllable fingers and the thumb that is able to abduct/adduct. This flexibility allows implementation of many different grasping strategies, but also requires new control algorithms that can exploit the many degrees of freedom available. The current study presents and tests the operation of a new control method for dexterous prosthetic hands. Methods The central component of the proposed method is an autonomous controller comprising a vision system with rule-based reasoning mounted on a dexterous hand (CyberHand. The controller, termed cognitive vision system (CVS, mimics biological control and generates commands for prehension. The CVS was integrated into a hierarchical control structure: 1 the user triggers the system and controls the orientation of the hand; 2 a high-level controller automatically selects the grasp type and size; and 3 an embedded hand controller implements the selected grasp using closed-loop position/force control. The operation of the control system was tested in 13 healthy subjects who used Cyberhand, attached to the forearm, to grasp and transport 18 objects placed at two different distances. Results The system correctly estimated grasp type and size (nine commands in total in about 84% of the trials. In an additional 6% of the trials, the grasp type and/or size were different from the optimal ones, but they were still good enough for the grasp to be successful. If the control task was simplified by decreasing the number of possible commands, the classification accuracy increased (e.g., 93% for guessing the grasp type only. Conclusions The original outcome of this research is a novel controller empowered by vision and reasoning and capable of high-level analysis (i.e., determining object properties and autonomous decision making (i.e., selecting the grasp type and

  6. Critical mm-wave components for synthetic automatic test systems

    CERN Document Server

    Hrobak, Michael

    2015-01-01

    Michael Hrobak studied hybrid integrated front end modules for high frequency measurement equipment and especially for synthetic automatic test systems. Recent developments of innovative, critical millimeter-wave components like frequency multipliers, directional couplers, filters, triple balanced mixers and power detectors are illustrated by the author separately and in combination.  Contents Synthetic Instruments Resistive Diode Frequency Multipliers Planar Directional Couplers and Filters Triple Balanced Mixers Zero Bias Schottky Power Detectors Integrated Front End Assemblies  Target Groups Scientists and students in the field of electrical engineering with main emphasis on high frequency technology Engineers and Practitioners dealing with the development of micro- and millimeter-wave measurement instruments  About the Author Dr. Michael Hrobak is with the Microwave Department of the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut (FBH), Berlin, Germany, where he is involved in the development and measurement of monolithic i...

  7. Vision-Based System for Human Detection and Tracking in Indoor Environment

    OpenAIRE

    Benezeth , Yannick; Emile , Bruno; Laurent , Hélène; Rosenberger , Christophe

    2010-01-01

    International audience; In this paper, we propose a vision-based system for human detection and tracking in indoor environment using a static camera. The proposed method is based on object recognition in still images combined with methods using temporal information from the video. Doing that, we improve the performance of the overall system and reduce the task complexity. We first use background subtraction to limit the search space of the classifier. The segmentation is realized by modeling ...

  8. Vision 2040: A Roadmap for Integrated, Multiscale Modeling and Simulation of Materials and Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xuan; Furrer, David; Kosters, Jared; Holmes, Jack

    2018-01-01

    Over the last few decades, advances in high-performance computing, new materials characterization methods, and, more recently, an emphasis on integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) and additive manufacturing have been a catalyst for multiscale modeling and simulation-based design of materials and structures in the aerospace industry. While these advances have driven significant progress in the development of aerospace components and systems, that progress has been limited by persistent technology and infrastructure challenges that must be overcome to realize the full potential of integrated materials and systems design and simulation modeling throughout the supply chain. As a result, NASA's Transformational Tools and Technology (TTT) Project sponsored a study (performed by a diverse team led by Pratt & Whitney) to define the potential 25-year future state required for integrated multiscale modeling of materials and systems (e.g., load-bearing structures) to accelerate the pace and reduce the expense of innovation in future aerospace and aeronautical systems. This report describes the findings of this 2040 Vision study (e.g., the 2040 vision state; the required interdependent core technical work areas, Key Element (KE); identified gaps and actions to close those gaps; and major recommendations) which constitutes a community consensus document as it is a result of over 450 professionals input obtain via: 1) four society workshops (AIAA, NAFEMS, and two TMS), 2) community-wide survey, and 3) the establishment of 9 expert panels (one per KE) consisting on average of 10 non-team members from academia, government and industry to review, update content, and prioritize gaps and actions. The study envisions the development of a cyber-physical-social ecosystem comprised of experimentally verified and validated computational models, tools, and techniques, along with the associated digital tapestry, that impacts the entire supply chain to enable cost

  9. Principles of image processing in machine vision systems for the color analysis of minerals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petukhova, Daria B.; Gorbunova, Elena V.; Chertov, Aleksandr N.; Korotaev, Valery V.

    2014-09-01

    At the moment color sorting method is one of promising methods of mineral raw materials enrichment. This method is based on registration of color differences between images of analyzed objects. As is generally known the problem with delimitation of close color tints when sorting low-contrast minerals is one of the main disadvantages of color sorting method. It is can be related with wrong choice of a color model and incomplete image processing in machine vision system for realizing color sorting algorithm. Another problem is a necessity of image processing features reconfiguration when changing the type of analyzed minerals. This is due to the fact that optical properties of mineral samples vary from one mineral deposit to another. Therefore searching for values of image processing features is non-trivial task. And this task doesn't always have an acceptable solution. In addition there are no uniform guidelines for determining criteria of mineral samples separation. It is assumed that the process of image processing features reconfiguration had to be made by machine learning. But in practice it's carried out by adjusting the operating parameters which are satisfactory for one specific enrichment task. This approach usually leads to the fact that machine vision system unable to estimate rapidly the concentration rate of analyzed mineral ore by using color sorting method. This paper presents the results of research aimed at addressing mentioned shortcomings in image processing organization for machine vision systems which are used to color sorting of mineral samples. The principles of color analysis for low-contrast minerals by using machine vision systems are also studied. In addition, a special processing algorithm for color images of mineral samples is developed. Mentioned algorithm allows you to determine automatically the criteria of mineral samples separation based on an analysis of representative mineral samples. Experimental studies of the proposed algorithm

  10. Synthetic biology: programming cells for biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hörner, Maximilian; Reischmann, Nadine; Weber, Wilfried

    2012-01-01

    The emerging field of synthetic biology is a novel biological discipline at the interface between traditional biology, chemistry, and engineering sciences. Synthetic biology aims at the rational design of complex synthetic biological devices and systems with desired properties by combining compatible, modular biological parts in a systematic manner. While the first engineered systems were mainly proof-of-principle studies to demonstrate the power of the modular engineering approach of synthetic biology, subsequent systems focus on applications in the health, environmental, and energy sectors. This review describes recent approaches for biomedical applications that were developed along the synthetic biology design hierarchy, at the level of individual parts, of devices, and of complex multicellular systems. It describes how synthetic biological parts can be used for the synthesis of drug-delivery tools, how synthetic biological devices can facilitate the discovery of novel drugs, and how multicellular synthetic ecosystems can give insight into population dynamics of parasites and hosts. These examples demonstrate how this new discipline could contribute to novel solutions in the biopharmaceutical industry.

  11. A Converter from the Systems Biology Markup Language to the Synthetic Biology Open Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Tramy; Roehner, Nicholas; Zundel, Zach; Myers, Chris J

    2016-06-17

    Standards are important to synthetic biology because they enable exchange and reproducibility of genetic designs. This paper describes a procedure for converting between two standards: the Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) and the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL). SBML is a standard for behavioral models of biological systems at the molecular level. SBOL describes structural and basic qualitative behavioral aspects of a biological design. Converting SBML to SBOL enables a consistent connection between behavioral and structural information for a biological design. The conversion process described in this paper leverages Systems Biology Ontology (SBO) annotations to enable inference of a designs qualitative function.

  12. A novel synthetic test system for thyristor level in the converter valve of HVDC power transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liu Longchen

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The converter valve is the core equipment in the HVDC power transmission system, a+-nd its performance has a direct effect on the reliability, stability and efficiency of the whole power system. As the basic unit of HVDC converter valve, the thyristor level needs to be test routinely in order to grasp the state of the converter valve equipment. Therefore, it is urgent to develop a novel synthetic test system for the thyristor level with thyristor control unit (TCU. However, currently there is no specific test scheme for the thyristor level of HVDC converter valve. In this paper, the synthetic test principle, content and methods for the thyristor level with TCU are presented based on the analysis of the thyristor reverse recovery characteristic and the IEC technology standard. And a transient high-voltage pulse is applied to the thyristor level during its reverse recovery period in order to test the characteristics of thyristor level. Then, the synthetic test system for the thyristor level is applied to the converter valve test of ±800 kV HVDC power transmission project, and the practical test result verifies the reasonability and validity of the proposed synthetic test system.

  13. Agent-Oriented Embedded Control System Design and Development of a Vision-Based Automated Guided Vehicle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wu Xing

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a control system design and development approach for a vision-based automated guided vehicle (AGV based on the multi-agent system (MAS methodology and embedded system resources. A three-phase agent-oriented design methodology Prometheus is used to analyse system functions, construct operation scenarios, define agent types and design the MAS coordination mechanism. The control system is then developed in an embedded implementation containing a digital signal processor (DSP and an advanced RISC machine (ARM by using the multitasking processing capacity of multiple microprocessors and system services of a real-time operating system (RTOS. As a paradigm, an onboard embedded controller is designed and developed for the AGV with a camera detecting guiding landmarks, and the entire procedure has a high efficiency and a clear hierarchy. A vision guidance experiment for our AGV is carried out in a space-limited laboratory environment to verify the perception capacity and the onboard intelligence of the agent-oriented embedded control system.

  14. VISION: a Versatile and Innovative SIlicOn tracking system

    CERN Document Server

    Lietti, Daniela; Vallazza, Erik

    This thesis work focuses on the study of the performance of different tracking and profilometry systems (the so-called INSULAB, INSUbria LABoratory, and VISION, Versatile and Innovative SIlicON, Telescopes) used in the last years by the NTA-HCCC, the COHERENT (COHERENT effects in crystals for the physics of accelerators), ICE-RAD (Interaction in Crystals for Emission of RADiation) and CHANEL (CHAnneling of NEgative Leptons) experiments, four collaborations of the INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) dedicated to the research in the crystals physics field.

  15. A Flexible Fringe Projection Vision System with Extended Mathematical Model for Accurate Three-Dimensional Measurement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suzhi Xiao

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available In order to acquire an accurate three-dimensional (3D measurement, the traditional fringe projection technique applies complex and laborious procedures to compensate for the errors that exist in the vision system. However, the error sources in the vision system are very complex, such as lens distortion, lens defocus, and fringe pattern nonsinusoidality. Some errors cannot even be explained or rendered with clear expressions and are difficult to compensate directly as a result. In this paper, an approach is proposed that avoids the complex and laborious compensation procedure for error sources but still promises accurate 3D measurement. It is realized by the mathematical model extension technique. The parameters of the extended mathematical model for the ’phase to 3D coordinates transformation’ are derived using the least-squares parameter estimation algorithm. In addition, a phase-coding method based on a frequency analysis is proposed for the absolute phase map retrieval to spatially isolated objects. The results demonstrate the validity and the accuracy of the proposed flexible fringe projection vision system on spatially continuous and discontinuous objects for 3D measurement.

  16. Vision restoration after brain and retina damage: the "residual vision activation theory".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabel, Bernhard A; Henrich-Noack, Petra; Fedorov, Anton; Gall, Carolin

    2011-01-01

    Vision loss after retinal or cerebral visual injury (CVI) was long considered to be irreversible. However, there is considerable potential for vision restoration and recovery even in adulthood. Here, we propose the "residual vision activation theory" of how visual functions can be reactivated and restored. CVI is usually not complete, but some structures are typically spared by the damage. They include (i) areas of partial damage at the visual field border, (ii) "islands" of surviving tissue inside the blind field, (iii) extrastriate pathways unaffected by the damage, and (iv) downstream, higher-level neuronal networks. However, residual structures have a triple handicap to be fully functional: (i) fewer neurons, (ii) lack of sufficient attentional resources because of the dominant intact hemisphere caused by excitation/inhibition dysbalance, and (iii) disturbance in their temporal processing. Because of this resulting activation loss, residual structures are unable to contribute much to everyday vision, and their "non-use" further impairs synaptic strength. However, residual structures can be reactivated by engaging them in repetitive stimulation by different means: (i) visual experience, (ii) visual training, or (iii) noninvasive electrical brain current stimulation. These methods lead to strengthening of synaptic transmission and synchronization of partially damaged structures (within-systems plasticity) and downstream neuronal networks (network plasticity). Just as in normal perceptual learning, synaptic plasticity can improve vision and lead to vision restoration. This can be induced at any time after the lesion, at all ages and in all types of visual field impairments after retinal or brain damage (stroke, neurotrauma, glaucoma, amblyopia, age-related macular degeneration). If and to what extent vision restoration can be achieved is a function of the amount of residual tissue and its activation state. However, sustained improvements require repetitive

  17. Development of a body motion interactive system with a weight voting mechanism and computer vision technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chern-Sheng; Chen, Chia-Tse; Shei, Hung-Jung; Lay, Yun-Long; Chiu, Chuang-Chien

    2012-09-01

    This study develops a body motion interactive system with computer vision technology. This application combines interactive games, art performing, and exercise training system. Multiple image processing and computer vision technologies are used in this study. The system can calculate the characteristics of an object color, and then perform color segmentation. When there is a wrong action judgment, the system will avoid the error with a weight voting mechanism, which can set the condition score and weight value for the action judgment, and choose the best action judgment from the weight voting mechanism. Finally, this study estimated the reliability of the system in order to make improvements. The results showed that, this method has good effect on accuracy and stability during operations of the human-machine interface of the sports training system.

  18. The use of contact lens telescopic systems in low vision rehabilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vincent, Stephen J

    2017-06-01

    Refracting telescopes are afocal compound optical systems consisting of two lenses that produce an apparent magnification of the retinal image. They are routinely used in visual rehabilitation in the form of monocular or binocular hand held low vision aids, and head or spectacle-mounted devices to improve distance visual acuity, and with slight modifications, to enhance acuity for near and intermediate tasks. Since the advent of ground glass haptic lenses in the 1930's, contact lenses have been employed as a useful refracting element of telescopic systems; primarily as a mobile ocular lens (the eyepiece), that moves with the eye. Telescopes which incorporate a contact lens eyepiece significantly improve the weight, comesis, and field of view compared to traditional spectacle-mounted telescopes, in addition to potential related psycho-social benefits. This review summarises the underlying optics and use of contact lenses to provide telescopic magnification from the era of Descartes, to Dallos, and the present day. The limitations and clinical challenges associated with such devices are discussed, along with the potential future use of reflecting telescopes incorporated within scleral lenses and tactile contact lens systems in low vision rehabilitation. Copyright © 2017 British Contact Lens Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Computer Vision for Timber Harvesting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dahl, Anders Lindbjerg

    The goal of this thesis is to investigate computer vision methods for timber harvesting operations. The background for developing computer vision for timber harvesting is to document origin of timber and to collect qualitative and quantitative parameters concerning the timber for efficient harvest...... segments. The purpose of image segmentation is to make the basis for more advanced computer vision methods like object recognition and classification. Our second method concerns image classification and we present a method where we classify small timber samples to tree species based on Active Appearance...... to the development of the logTracker system the described methods have a general applicability making them useful for many other computer vision problems....

  20. A neural network based artificial vision system for licence plate recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Draghici, S

    1997-02-01

    This paper presents a neural network based artificial vision system able to analyze the image of a car given by a camera, locate the registration plate and recognize the registration number of the car. The paper describes in detail various practical problems encountered in implementing this particular application and the solutions used to solve them. The main features of the system presented are: controlled stability-plasticity behavior, controlled reliability threshold, both off-line and on-line learning, self assessment of the output reliability and high reliability based on high level multiple feedback. The system has been designed using a modular approach. Sub-modules can be upgraded and/or substituted independently, thus making the system potentially suitable in a large variety of vision applications. The OCR engine was designed as an interchangeable plug-in module. This allows the user to choose an OCR engine which is suited to the particular application and to upgrade it easily in the future. At present, there are several versions of this OCR engine. One of them is based on a fully connected feedforward artificial neural network with sigmoidal activation functions. This network can be trained with various training algorithms such as error backpropagation. An alternative OCR engine is based on the constraint based decomposition (CBD) training architecture. The system has showed the following performances (on average) on real-world data: successful plate location and segmentation about 99%, successful character recognition about 98% and successful recognition of complete registration plates about 80%.

  1. Machine Vision Tests for Spent Fuel Scrap Characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    BERGER, W.W.

    2000-01-01

    The purpose of this work is to perform a feasibility test of a Machine Vision system for potential use at the Hanford K basins during spent nuclear fuel (SNF) operations. This report documents the testing performed to establish functionality of the system including quantitative assessment of results. Fauske and Associates, Inc., which has been intimately involved in development of the SNF safety basis, has teamed with Agris-Schoen Vision Systems, experts in robotics, tele-robotics, and Machine Vision, for this work

  2. Creating biological nanomaterials using synthetic biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rice, MaryJoe K; Ruder, Warren C

    2014-01-01

    Synthetic biology is a new discipline that combines science and engineering approaches to precisely control biological networks. These signaling networks are especially important in fields such as biomedicine and biochemical engineering. Additionally, biological networks can also be critical to the production of naturally occurring biological nanomaterials, and as a result, synthetic biology holds tremendous potential in creating new materials. This review introduces the field of synthetic biology, discusses how biological systems naturally produce materials, and then presents examples and strategies for incorporating synthetic biology approaches in the development of new materials. In particular, strategies for using synthetic biology to produce both organic and inorganic nanomaterials are discussed. Ultimately, synthetic biology holds the potential to dramatically impact biological materials science with significant potential applications in medical systems. (review)

  3. Creating biological nanomaterials using synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rice, MaryJoe K; Ruder, Warren C

    2014-02-01

    Synthetic biology is a new discipline that combines science and engineering approaches to precisely control biological networks. These signaling networks are especially important in fields such as biomedicine and biochemical engineering. Additionally, biological networks can also be critical to the production of naturally occurring biological nanomaterials, and as a result, synthetic biology holds tremendous potential in creating new materials. This review introduces the field of synthetic biology, discusses how biological systems naturally produce materials, and then presents examples and strategies for incorporating synthetic biology approaches in the development of new materials. In particular, strategies for using synthetic biology to produce both organic and inorganic nanomaterials are discussed. Ultimately, synthetic biology holds the potential to dramatically impact biological materials science with significant potential applications in medical systems.

  4. Optimization of dynamic envelope measurement system for high speed train based on monocular vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Bin; Liu, Changjie; Fu, Luhua; Wang, Zhong

    2018-01-01

    The definition of dynamic envelope curve is the maximum limit outline caused by various adverse effects during the running process of the train. It is an important base of making railway boundaries. At present, the measurement work of dynamic envelope curve of high-speed vehicle is mainly achieved by the way of binocular vision. There are some problems of the present measuring system like poor portability, complicated process and high cost. A new measurement system based on the monocular vision measurement theory and the analysis on the test environment is designed and the measurement system parameters, the calibration of camera with wide field of view, the calibration of the laser plane are designed and optimized in this paper. The accuracy has been verified to be up to 2mm by repeated tests and experimental data analysis. The feasibility and the adaptability of the measurement system is validated. There are some advantages of the system like lower cost, a simpler measurement and data processing process, more reliable data. And the system needs no matching algorithm.

  5. Development of a vision-based pH reading system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hur, Min Goo; Kong, Young Bae; Lee, Eun Je; Park, Jeong Hoon; Yang, Seung Dae; Moon, Ha Jung; Lee, Dong Hoon

    2015-10-01

    pH paper is generally used for pH interpretation in the QC (quality control) process of radiopharmaceuticals. pH paper is easy to handle and useful for small samples such as radio-isotopes and radioisotope (RI)-labeled compounds for positron emission tomography (PET). However, pHpaper-based detecting methods may have some errors due limitations of eye sight and inaccurate readings. In this paper, we report a new device for pH reading and related software. The proposed pH reading system is developed with a vision algorithm based on the RGB library. The pH reading system is divided into two parts. First is the reading device that consists of a light source, a CCD camera and a data acquisition (DAQ) board. To improve the accuracy of the sensitivity, we utilize the three primary colors of the LED (light emission diode) in the reading device. The use of three colors is better than the use of a single color for a white LED because of wavelength. The other is a graph user interface (GUI) program for a vision interface and report generation. The GUI program inserts the color codes of the pH paper into the database; then, the CCD camera captures the pH paper and compares its color with the RGB database image in the reading mode. The software captures and reports information on the samples, such as pH results, capture images, and library images, and saves them as excel files.

  6. Infrared machine vision system for the automatic detection of olive fruit quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guzmán, Elena; Baeten, Vincent; Pierna, Juan Antonio Fernández; García-Mesa, José A

    2013-11-15

    External quality is an important factor in the extraction of olive oil and the marketing of olive fruits. The appearance and presence of external damage are factors that influence the quality of the oil extracted and the perception of consumers, determining the level of acceptance prior to purchase in the case of table olives. The aim of this paper is to report on artificial vision techniques developed for the online estimation of olive quality and to assess the effectiveness of these techniques in evaluating quality based on detecting external defects. This method of classifying olives according to the presence of defects is based on an infrared (IR) vision system. Images of defects were acquired using a digital monochrome camera with band-pass filters on near-infrared (NIR). The original images were processed using segmentation algorithms, edge detection and pixel value intensity to classify the whole fruit. The detection of the defect involved a pixel classification procedure based on nonparametric models of the healthy and defective areas of olives. Classification tests were performed on olives to assess the effectiveness of the proposed method. This research showed that the IR vision system is a useful technology for the automatic assessment of olives that has the potential for use in offline inspection and for online sorting for defects and the presence of surface damage, easily distinguishing those that do not meet minimum quality requirements. Crown Copyright © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Comparison of the Infiniti vision and the series 20,000 Legacy systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández de Castro, Luis E; Solomon, Kerry D; Hu, Daniel J; Vroman, David T; Sandoval, Helga P

    2008-01-01

    To compare the efficiency of the Infiniti vision system and the Series 20,000 Legacy system phacoemulsification units during routine cataract extraction. Thirty-nine eyes of 39 patients were randomized to have their cataract removed using either the Infiniti or the Legacy system, both using the Neosonix handpiece. System settings were standardized. Ultrasound time, amount of balanced salt solution (BSS) used intraoperatively, and postoperative visual acuity at postoperative days 1, 7 and 30 were evaluated. Preoperatively, best corrected visual acuity was significantly worse in the Infiniti group compared to the Legacy group (0.38 +/- 0.23 and 0.21 +/- 0.16, respectively; p = 0.012). The mean phacoemulsification time was 39.6 +/- 22.9 s (range 6.0-102.0) for the Legacy group and 18.3 +/-19.1 s (range 1.0-80.0) for the Infiniti group (p = 0.001). The mean amounts of intraoperative BSS used were 117 +/- 37.7 ml (range 70-195) in the Legacy group and 85.3 +/- 38.9 ml (range 40-200) in the Infiniti group (p = 0.005). No differences in postoperative visual acuity were found. The ability to use higher flow rates and vacuum settings with the Infiniti vision system allowed for cataract removal with less phacoemulsification time than when using the Legacy system. Copyright 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  8. New vision solar system mission study. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mondt, J.F.; Zubrin, R.M.

    1996-03-01

    The vision for the future of the planetary exploration program includes the capability to deliver {open_quotes}constellations{close_quotes} or {open_quotes}fleets{close_quotes} of microspacecraft to a planetary destination. These fleets will act in a coordinated manner to gather science data from a variety of locations on or around the target body, thus providing detailed, global coverage without requiring development of a single large, complex and costly spacecraft. Such constellations of spacecraft, coupled with advanced information processing and visualization techniques and high-rate communications, could provide the basis for development of a {open_quotes}virtual{close_quotes} {open_quotes}presence{close_quotes} in the solar system. A goal could be the near real-time delivery of planetary images and video to a wide variety of users in the general public and the science community. This will be a major step in making the solar system accessible to the public and will help make solar system exploration a part of the human experience on Earth.

  9. Visual Prosthesis: Interfacing Stimulating Electrodes with Retinal Neurons to Restore Vision

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandro Barriga-Rivera

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The bypassing of degenerated photoreceptors using retinal neurostimulators is helping the blind to recover functional vision. Researchers are investigating new ways to improve visual percepts elicited by these means as the vision produced by these early devices remain rudimentary. However, several factors are hampering the progression of bionic technologies: the charge injection limits of metallic electrodes, the mechanical mismatch between excitable tissue and the stimulating elements, neural and electric crosstalk, the physical size of the implanted devices, and the inability to selectively activate different types of retinal neurons. Electrochemical and mechanical limitations are being addressed by the application of electromaterials such as conducting polymers, carbon nanotubes and nanocrystalline diamonds, among other biomaterials, to electrical neuromodulation. In addition, the use of synthetic hydrogels and cell-laden biomaterials is promising better interfaces, as it opens a door to establishing synaptic connections between the electrode material and the excitable cells. Finally, new electrostimulation approaches relying on the use of high-frequency stimulation and field overlapping techniques are being developed to better replicate the neural code of the retina. All these elements combined will bring bionic vision beyond its present state and into the realm of a viable, mainstream therapy for vision loss.

  10. Complete Vision-Based Traffic Sign Recognition Supported by an I2V Communication System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Gavilán

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a complete traffic sign recognition system based on vision sensor onboard a moving vehicle which detects and recognizes up to one hundred of the most important road signs, including circular and triangular signs. A restricted Hough transform is used as detection method from the information extracted in contour images, while the proposed recognition system is based on Support Vector Machines (SVM. A novel solution to the problem of discarding detected signs that do not pertain to the host road is proposed. For that purpose infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V communication and a stereo vision sensor are used. Furthermore, the outputs provided by the vision sensor and the data supplied by the CAN Bus and a GPS sensor are combined to obtain the global position of the detected traffic signs, which is used to identify a traffic sign in the I2V communication. This paper presents plenty of tests in real driving conditions, both day and night, in which an average detection rate over 95% and an average recognition rate around 93% were obtained with an average runtime of 35 ms that allows real-time performance.

  11. Complete vision-based traffic sign recognition supported by an I2V communication system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Garrido, Miguel A; Ocaña, Manuel; Llorca, David F; Arroyo, Estefanía; Pozuelo, Jorge; Gavilán, Miguel

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents a complete traffic sign recognition system based on vision sensor onboard a moving vehicle which detects and recognizes up to one hundred of the most important road signs, including circular and triangular signs. A restricted Hough transform is used as detection method from the information extracted in contour images, while the proposed recognition system is based on Support Vector Machines (SVM). A novel solution to the problem of discarding detected signs that do not pertain to the host road is proposed. For that purpose infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) communication and a stereo vision sensor are used. Furthermore, the outputs provided by the vision sensor and the data supplied by the CAN Bus and a GPS sensor are combined to obtain the global position of the detected traffic signs, which is used to identify a traffic sign in the I2V communication. This paper presents plenty of tests in real driving conditions, both day and night, in which an average detection rate over 95% and an average recognition rate around 93% were obtained with an average runtime of 35 ms that allows real-time performance.

  12. Vision and the hypothalamus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trachtman, Joseph N

    2010-02-01

    For nearly 2 millennia, signs of hypothalamic-related vision disorders have been noticed as illustrated by paintings and drawings of that time of undiagnosed Horner's syndrome. It was not until the 1800s, however, that specific connections between the hypothalamus and the vision system were discovered. With a fuller elaboration of the autonomic nervous system in the early to mid 1900s, many more pathways were discovered. The more recently discovered retinohypothalamic tracts show the extent and influence of light stimulation on hypothalamic function and bodily processes. The hypothalamus maintains its myriad connections via neural pathways, such as with the pituitary and pineal glands; the chemical messengers of the peptides, cytokines, and neurotransmitters; and the nitric oxide mechanism. As a result of these connections, the hypothalamus has involvement in many degenerative diseases. A complete feedback mechanism between the eye and hypothalamus is established by the retinohypothalamic tracts and the ciliary nerves innervating the anterior pole of the eye and the retina. A discussion of hypothalamic-related vision disorders includes neurologic syndromes, the lacrimal system, the retina, and ocular inflammation. Tables and figures have been used to aid in the explanation of the many connections and chemicals controlled by the hypothalamus. The understanding of the functions of the hypothalamus will allow the clinician to gain better insight into the many pathologies associated between the vision system and the hypothalamus. In the future, it may be possible that some ocular disease treatments will be via direct action on hypothalamic function. Copyright 2010 American Optometric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Virtual expansion of the technical vision system for smart vehicles based on multi-agent cooperation model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krapukhina, Nina; Senchenko, Roman; Kamenov, Nikolay

    2017-12-01

    Road safety and driving in dense traffic flows poses some challenges in receiving information about surrounding moving object, some of which can be in the vehicle's blind spot. This work suggests an approach to virtual monitoring of the objects in a current road scene via a system with a multitude of cooperating smart vehicles exchanging information. It also describes the intellectual agent model, and provides methods and algorithms of identifying and evaluating various characteristics of moving objects in video flow. Authors also suggest ways for integrating the information from the technical vision system into the model with further expansion of virtual monitoring for the system's objects. Implementation of this approach can help to expand the virtual field of view for a technical vision system.

  14. Computer vision and imaging in intelligent transportation systems

    CERN Document Server

    Bala, Raja; Trivedi, Mohan

    2017-01-01

    Acts as a single source reference providing readers with an overview of how computer vision can contribute to the different applications in the field of road transportation. This book presents a survey of computer vision techniques related to three key broad problems in the roadway transportation domain: safety, efficiency, and law enforcement. The individual chapters present significant applications within these problem domains, each presented in a tutorial manner, describing the motivation for and benefits of the application, and a description of the state of the art.

  15. Development of Non-contact Respiratory Monitoring System for Newborn Using a FG Vision Sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurami, Yoshiyuki; Itoh, Yushi; Natori, Michiya; Ohzeki, Kazuo; Aoki, Yoshimitsu

    In recent years, development of neonatal care is strongly hoped, with increase of the low-birth-weight baby birth rate. Especially respiration of low-birth-weight baby is incertitude because central nerve and respiratory function is immature. Therefore, a low-birth-weight baby often causes a disease of respiration. In a NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), neonatal respiration is monitored using cardio-respiratory monitor and pulse oximeter at all times. These contact-type sensors can measure respiratory rate and SpO2 (Saturation of Peripheral Oxygen). However, because a contact-type sensor might damage the newborn's skin, it is a real burden to monitor neonatal respiration. Therefore, we developed the respiratory monitoring system for newborn using a FG (Fiber Grating) vision sensor. FG vision sensor is an active stereo vision sensor, it is possible for non-contact 3D measurement. A respiratory waveform is calculated by detecting the vertical motion of the thoracic and abdominal region with respiration. We attempted clinical experiment in the NICU, and confirmed the accuracy of the obtained respiratory waveform was high. Non-contact respiratory monitoring of newborn using a FG vision sensor enabled the minimally invasive procedure.

  16. Micro-vision servo control of a multi-axis alignment system for optical fiber assembly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Weihai; Yu, Fei; Qu, Jianliang; Chen, Wenjie; Zhang, Jianbin

    2017-01-01

    This paper describes a novel optical fiber assembly system featuring a multi-axis alignment function based on micro-vision feedback control. It consists of an active parallel alignment mechanism, a passive compensation mechanism, a micro-gripper and a micro-vision servo control system. The active parallel alignment part is a parallelogram-based design with remote-center-of-motion (RCM) function to achieve precise rotation without fatal lateral motion. The passive mechanism, with five degrees of freedom (5-DOF), is used to implement passive compensation for multi-axis errors. A specially designed 1-DOF micro-gripper mounted onto the active parallel alignment platform is adopted to grasp and rotate the optical fiber. A micro-vision system equipped with two charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras is introduced to observe the small field of view and obtain multi-axis errors for servo feedback control. The two CCD cameras are installed in an orthogonal arrangement—thus the errors can be easily measured via the captured images. Meanwhile, a series of tracking and measurement algorithms based on specific features of the target objects are developed. Details of the force and displacement sensor information acquisition in the assembly experiment are also provided. An experiment demonstrates the validity of the proposed visual algorithm by achieving the task of eliminating errors and inserting an optical fiber to the U-groove accurately. (paper)

  17. An improved fuzzy synthetic condition assessment of a wind turbine generator system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, H.; Hu, Y. G.; Yang, Chao

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents an improved fuzzy synthetic model that is based on a real-time condition assessment method of a grid-connected wind turbine generator system (WTGS) to improve the operational reliability and optimize the maintenance strategy. First, a condition assessment framework is proposed...... by analyzing the monitoring data of the WTGS. An improved fuzzy synthetic condition assessment method is then proposed that utilizes the concepts of deterioration degree, dynamic limited values and variable weight calculations of the assessment indices. Finally, by using on-line monitoring data of an actual...... 850 kW WTGS, real-time condition assessments are performed that utilize the proposed fuzzy synthetic method; the model’s effectiveness is also compared to a traditional fuzzy assessment method in which constant limited values and constant weights are adopted. The results show that the condition...

  18. A future vision of nuclear material information systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suski, N.; Wimple, C.

    1999-01-01

    To address the current and future needs for nuclear materials management and safeguards information, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory envisions an integrated nuclear information system that will support several functions. The vision is to link distributed information systems via a common communications infrastructure designed to address the information interdependencies between two major elements: Domestic, with information about specific nuclear materials and their properties, and International, with information pertaining to foreign nuclear materials, facility design and operations. The communication infrastructure will enable data consistency, validation and reconciliation, as well as provide a common access point and user interface for a broad range of nuclear materials information. Information may be transmitted to, from, and within the system by a variety of linkage mechanisms, including the Internet. Strict access control will be employed as well as data encryption and user authentication to provide the necessary information assurance. The system can provide a mechanism not only for data storage and retrieval, but will eventually provide the analytical tools necessary to support the U.S. government's nuclear materials management needs and non-proliferation policy goals

  19. Smart-DS: Synthetic Models for Advanced, Realistic Testing: Distribution Systems and Scenarios

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krishnan, Venkat K [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Palmintier, Bryan S [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hodge, Brian S [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hale, Elaine T [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Elgindy, Tarek [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Bugbee, Bruce [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Rossol, Michael N [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Lopez, Anthony J [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Krishnamurthy, Dheepak [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Vergara, Claudio [MIT; Domingo, Carlos Mateo [IIT Comillas; Postigo, Fernando [IIT Comillas; de Cuadra, Fernando [IIT Comillas; Gomez, Tomas [IIT Comillas; Duenas, Pablo [MIT; Luke, Max [MIT; Li, Vivian [MIT; Vinoth, Mohan [GE Grid Solutions; Kadankodu, Sree [GE Grid Solutions

    2017-08-09

    The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Universidad Pontificia Comillas (Comillas-IIT, Spain) and GE Grid Solutions, is working on an ARPA-E GRID DATA project, titled Smart-DS, to create: 1) High-quality, realistic, synthetic distribution network models, and 2) Advanced tools for automated scenario generation based on high-resolution weather data and generation growth projections. Through these advancements, the Smart-DS project is envisioned to accelerate the development, testing, and adoption of advanced algorithms, approaches, and technologies for sustainable and resilient electric power systems, especially in the realm of U.S. distribution systems. This talk will present the goals and overall approach of the Smart-DS project, including the process of creating the synthetic distribution datasets using reference network model (RNM) and the comprehensive validation process to ensure network realism, feasibility, and applicability to advanced use cases. The talk will provide demonstrations of early versions of synthetic models, along with the lessons learnt from expert engagements to enhance future iterations. Finally, the scenario generation framework, its development plans, and co-ordination with GRID DATA repository teams to house these datasets for public access will also be discussed.

  20. Diagnosis System for Diabetic Retinopathy and Glaucoma Screening to Prevent Vision Loss

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siva Sundhara Raja DHANUSHKODI

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Aim: Diabetic retinopathy (DR and glaucoma are two most common retinal disorders that are major causes of blindness in diabetic patients. DR caused in retinal images due to the damage in retinal blood vessels, which leads to the formation of hemorrhages spread over the entire region of retina. Glaucoma is caused due to hypertension in diabetic patients. Both DR and glaucoma affects the vision loss in diabetic patients. Hence, a computer aided development of diagnosis system for Diabetic retinopathy and Glaucoma screening is proposed in this paper to prevent vision loss. Method: The diagnosis system of DR consists of two stages namely detection and segmentation of fovea and hemorrhages. The diagnosis system of glaucoma screening consists of three stages namely blood vessel segmentation, Extraction of optic disc (OD and optic cup (OC region and determination of rim area between OD and OC. Results: The specificity and accuracy for hemorrhages detection is found to be 98.47% and 98.09% respectively. The accuracy for OD detection is found to be 99.3%. This outperforms state-of-the-art methods. Conclusion: In this paper, the diagnosis system is developed to classify the DR and glaucoma screening in to mild, moderate and severe respectively.

  1. Opportunities in plant synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Charis; Martin, Lisa; Bastow, Ruth

    2014-05-01

    Synthetic biology is an emerging field uniting scientists from all disciplines with the aim of designing or re-designing biological processes. Initially, synthetic biology breakthroughs came from microbiology, chemistry, physics, computer science, materials science, mathematics, and engineering disciplines. A transition to multicellular systems is the next logical step for synthetic biologists and plants will provide an ideal platform for this new phase of research. This meeting report highlights some of the exciting plant synthetic biology projects, and tools and resources, presented and discussed at the 2013 GARNet workshop on plant synthetic biology.

  2. The feasibility of synthetic fuels in renewable energy systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ridjan, Iva; Mathiesen, Brian Vad; Connolly, D.

    2013-01-01

    , and other impacts on the environment and biosphere. Hence, it is essential to make a detailed analysis of this sector in order to match the demand and to meet the criteria of a 100% renewable energy system in 2050. The purpose of this article is to identify potential pathways for producing synthetic fuels......, with a specific focus on solid oxide electrolyser cells (SOEC) combined with the recycling of CO2....

  3. The feasibility of synthetic fuels in renewable energy systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ridjan, Iva; Mathiesen, Brian Vad; Connolly, David

    2012-01-01

    supplies, and other impacts on environment and biosphere. Hence, it is essential to make a detailed analysis of this sector in order to match the demand and to meet the criteria of a 100% renewable energy system in 2050. The purpose of this article is to identify potential pathways for producing synthetic...... fuels, with a specific focus on solid oxide electrolyser cells combined with the recycling of CO2....

  4. Ping-Pong Robotics with High-Speed Vision System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Hailing; Wu, Haiyan; Lou, Lei

    2012-01-01

    The performance of vision-based control is usually limited by the low sampling rate of the visual feedback. We address Ping-Pong robotics as a widely studied example which requires high-speed vision for highly dynamic motion control. In order to detect a flying ball accurately and robustly...... of the manipulator are updated iteratively with decreasing error. Experiments are conducted on a 7 degrees of freedom humanoid robot arm. A successful Ping-Pong playing between the robot arm and human is achieved with a high successful rate of 88%....

  5. Miniaturisation of Pressure-Sensitive Paint Measurement Systems Using Low-Cost, Miniaturised Machine Vision Cameras.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinn, Mark Kenneth; Spinosa, Emanuele; Roberts, David A

    2017-07-25

    Measurements of pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) have been performed using new or non-scientific imaging technology based on machine vision tools. Machine vision camera systems are typically used for automated inspection or process monitoring. Such devices offer the benefits of lower cost and reduced size compared with typically scientific-grade cameras; however, their optical qualities and suitability have yet to be determined. This research intends to show relevant imaging characteristics and also show the applicability of such imaging technology for PSP. Details of camera performance are benchmarked and compared to standard scientific imaging equipment and subsequent PSP tests are conducted using a static calibration chamber. The findings demonstrate that machine vision technology can be used for PSP measurements, opening up the possibility of performing measurements on-board small-scale model such as those used for wind tunnel testing or measurements in confined spaces with limited optical access.

  6. Miniaturisation of Pressure-Sensitive Paint Measurement Systems Using Low-Cost, Miniaturised Machine Vision Cameras

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark Kenneth Quinn

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Measurements of pressure-sensitive paint (PSP have been performed using new or non-scientific imaging technology based on machine vision tools. Machine vision camera systems are typically used for automated inspection or process monitoring. Such devices offer the benefits of lower cost and reduced size compared with typically scientific-grade cameras; however, their optical qualities and suitability have yet to be determined. This research intends to show relevant imaging characteristics and also show the applicability of such imaging technology for PSP. Details of camera performance are benchmarked and compared to standard scientific imaging equipment and subsequent PSP tests are conducted using a static calibration chamber. The findings demonstrate that machine vision technology can be used for PSP measurements, opening up the possibility of performing measurements on-board small-scale model such as those used for wind tunnel testing or measurements in confined spaces with limited optical access.

  7. Development of real-time radiation exposure dosimetry system using synthetic ruby for interventional radiology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hosokai, Yoshiyuki; Win, Thet Pe; Muroi, Kenzo; Matsumoto, Kenki; Takahashi, Kaito; Usui, Akihito; Saito, Haruo; Kozakai, Masataka

    2017-01-01

    Interventional radiology (IVR) tends to involve long procedures, consequently delivering high radiation doses to the patient. Radiation-induced injuries that occur because of the effect of the high radiation doses are a considerable problem for those performing IVR. For example, skin injuries can include skin erythema if the skin is exposed to radiation doses beyond the threshold level of 2 Gy. One of the reasons for this type of injury is that the local skin dose cannot be monitored in real time. Although there are systems employed to measure the exposure dose, some do not work in real time (such as thermoluminescence dosimeters and fluorescent glass dosimeters), while certain real-time measurement systems that enter the field of view (such as patient skin dosimeters and dosimeters using a nontoxic phosphor) interfere with IVR. However, synthetic ruby has been shown to emit light in response to radiation. The luminous wavelength is 693 nm. It is possible to monitor the radiation dose by detecting the emitted light. However, small synthetic rubies emit a tiny amount of light that is difficult to detect using common systems such as photodiodes. A large enough synthetic ruby to increase the quantity of emitted light would however enter the field of view and interfere with the IVR procedure. Additionally, although a photodiode system could reduce the system size, the data is susceptible to effects from the X-rays and outside temperature. Therefore, use of a sensitive photon counting system as used in nuclear medicine could potentially have a beneficial effect in detecting the weak light signal. A real-time radiation exposure dosimetry system for use in IVR should be sufficiently sensitive, not interfere with the IVR procedure, and ideally have the possibility of development into a system that can provide simultaneous multipoint measurements. This article discusses the development of a realtime radiation exposure dosimetry system for use in IVR that employs a small

  8. Artificial intelligence, expert systems, computer vision, and natural language processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gevarter, W. B.

    1984-01-01

    An overview of artificial intelligence (AI), its core ingredients, and its applications is presented. The knowledge representation, logic, problem solving approaches, languages, and computers pertaining to AI are examined, and the state of the art in AI is reviewed. The use of AI in expert systems, computer vision, natural language processing, speech recognition and understanding, speech synthesis, problem solving, and planning is examined. Basic AI topics, including automation, search-oriented problem solving, knowledge representation, and computational logic, are discussed.

  9. Physics Based Vision Systems for Robotic Manipulation

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — With the increase of robotic manipulation tasks (TA4.3), specifically dexterous manipulation tasks (TA4.3.2), more advanced computer vision algorithms will be...

  10. Synthetic Biology and the U.S. Biotechnology Regulatory System: Challenges and Options

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carter, Sarah R. [J. Craig Venter Inst., Rockville, MD (United States); Rodemeyer, Michael [Univ. of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA (United States); Garfinkel, Michele S. [EMBO, Heidelberg (Germany); Friedman, Robert M. [J. Craig Venter Inst., Rockville, MD (United States)

    2014-05-01

    Synthetic Biology and the U.S. Biotechnology Regulatory System: Challenges and Options Sarah R. Carter, Ph.D., J. Craig Venter Institute; Michael Rodemeyer, J.D., University of Virginia; Michele S. Garfinkel, Ph.D., EMBO; Robert M. Friedman, Ph.D., J. Craig Venter Institute In recent years, a range of genetic engineering techniques referred to as “synthetic biology” has significantly expanded the tool kit available to scientists and engineers, providing them with far greater capabilities to engineer organisms than previous techniques allowed. The field of synthetic biology includes the relatively new ability to synthesize long pieces of DNA from chemicals, as well as improved methods for genetic manipulation and design of genetic pathways to achieve more precise control of biological systems. These advances will help usher in a new generation of genetically engineered microbes, plants, and animals. The JCVI Policy Center team, along with researchers at the University of Virginia and EMBO, examined how well the current U.S. regulatory system for genetically engineered products will handle the near-term introduction of organisms engineered using synthetic biology. In particular, the focus was on those organisms intended to be used or grown directly in the environment, outside of a contained facility. The study concludes that the U.S. regulatory agencies have adequate legal authority to address most, but not all, potential environmental, health and safety concerns posed by these organisms. Such near-term products are likely to represent incremental changes rather than a marked departure from previous genetically engineered organisms. However, the study also identified two key challenges for the regulatory system, which are detailed in the report. First, USDA’s authority over genetically engineered plants depends on the use of an older engineering technique that is no longer necessary for many applications. The shift to synthetic biology and other newer genetic

  11. Evaluating the image quality of Closed Circuit Television magnification systems versus a head-mounted display for people with low vision. .

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chern Sheng; Jan, Hvey-An; Lay, Yun-Long; Huang, Chih-Chia; Chen, Hsien-Tse

    2014-01-01

    In this research, image analysis was used to optimize the visual output of a traditional Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) magnifying system and a head-mounted display (HMD) for people with low vision. There were two purposes: (1) To determine the benefit of using an image analysis system to customize image quality for a person with low vision, and (2) to have people with low vision evaluate a traditional CCTV magnifier and an HMD, each customized to the user's needs and preferences. A CCTV system can electronically alter images by increasing the contrast, brightness, and magnification for the visually disabled when they are reading texts and pictures. The test methods was developed to evaluate and customize a magnification system for persons with low vision. The head-mounted display with CCTV was used to obtain better depth of field and a higher modulation transfer function from the video camera. By sensing the parameters of the environment (e.g., ambient light level, etc.) and collecting the user's specific characteristics, the system could make adjustments according to the user's needs, thus allowing the visually disabled to read more efficiently.

  12. Optics, illumination, and image sensing for machine vision II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Svetkoff, D.J.

    1987-01-01

    These proceedings collect papers on the general subject of machine vision. Topics include illumination and viewing systems, x-ray imaging, automatic SMT inspection with x-ray vision, and 3-D sensing for machine vision

  13. Operational Based Vision Assessment Automated Vision Test Collection User Guide

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-05-15

    AFRL-SA-WP-SR-2017-0012 Operational Based Vision Assessment Automated Vision Test Collection User Guide Elizabeth Shoda, Alex...June 2015 – May 2017 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Operational Based Vision Assessment Automated Vision Test Collection User Guide 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER... automated vision tests , or AVT. Development of the AVT was required to support threshold-level vision testing capability needed to investigate the

  14. THE SYSTEM OF TECHNICAL VISION IN THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. V. Shavetov

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with the development of video broadcasting system in view of controlling mobile robots over the Internet. A brief overview of the issues and their solutions, encountered in the real-time broadcasting video stream, is given. Affordable and versatile solutions of technical vision are considered. An approach for frame-accurate video rebroadcasting to unlimited number of end-users is proposed. The optimal performance parameters of network equipment for the final number of cameras are defined. System approbation on five IP cameras of different manufacturers is done. The average time delay for broadcasting in MJPEG format over the local network was 200 ms and 500 ms over the Internet.

  15. Possible Computer Vision Systems and Automated or Computer-Aided Edging and Trimming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philip A. Araman

    1990-01-01

    This paper discusses research which is underway to help our industry reduce costs, increase product volume and value recovery, and market more accurately graded and described products. The research is part of a team effort to help the hardwood sawmill industry automate with computer vision systems, and computer-aided or computer controlled processing. This paper...

  16. High-speed potato grading and quality inspection based on a color vision system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noordam, Jacco C.; Otten, Gerwoud W.; Timmermans, Toine J. M.; van Zwol, Bauke H.

    2000-03-01

    A high-speed machine vision system for the quality inspection and grading of potatoes has been developed. The vision system grades potatoes on size, shape and external defects such as greening, mechanical damages, rhizoctonia, silver scab, common scab, cracks and growth cracks. A 3-CCD line-scan camera inspects the potatoes in flight as they pass under the camera. The use of mirrors to obtain a 360-degree view of the potato and the lack of product holders guarantee a full view of the potato. To achieve the required capacity of 12 tons/hour, 11 SHARC Digital Signal Processors perform the image processing and classification tasks. The total capacity of the system is about 50 potatoes/sec. The color segmentation procedure uses Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) in combination with a Mahalanobis distance classifier to classify the pixels. The procedure for the detection of misshapen potatoes uses a Fourier based shape classification technique. Features such as area, eccentricity and central moments are used to discriminate between similar colored defects. Experiments with red and yellow skin-colored potatoes have shown that the system is robust and consistent in its classification.

  17. Real-time machine vision system using FPGA and soft-core processor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malik, Abdul Waheed; Thörnberg, Benny; Meng, Xiaozhou; Imran, Muhammad

    2012-06-01

    This paper presents a machine vision system for real-time computation of distance and angle of a camera from reference points in the environment. Image pre-processing, component labeling and feature extraction modules were modeled at Register Transfer (RT) level and synthesized for implementation on field programmable gate arrays (FPGA). The extracted image component features were sent from the hardware modules to a soft-core processor, MicroBlaze, for computation of distance and angle. A CMOS imaging sensor operating at a clock frequency of 27MHz was used in our experiments to produce a video stream at the rate of 75 frames per second. Image component labeling and feature extraction modules were running in parallel having a total latency of 13ms. The MicroBlaze was interfaced with the component labeling and feature extraction modules through Fast Simplex Link (FSL). The latency for computing distance and angle of camera from the reference points was measured to be 2ms on the MicroBlaze, running at 100 MHz clock frequency. In this paper, we present the performance analysis, device utilization and power consumption for the designed system. The FPGA based machine vision system that we propose has high frame speed, low latency and a power consumption that is much lower compared to commercially available smart camera solutions.

  18. ROV-based Underwater Vision System for Intelligent Fish Ethology Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rui Nian

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Fish ethology is a prospective discipline for ocean surveys. In this paper, one ROV-based system is established to perform underwater visual tasks with customized optical sensors installed. One image quality enhancement method is first presented in the context of creating underwater imaging models combined with homomorphic filtering and wavelet decomposition. The underwater vision system can further detect and track swimming fish from the resulting images with the strategies developed using curve evolution and particular filtering, in order to obtain a deeper understanding of fish behaviours. The simulation results have shown the excellent performance of the developed scheme, in regard to both robustness and effectiveness.

  19. Synthetic biological networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Archer, Eric; Süel, Gürol M

    2013-01-01

    Despite their obvious relationship and overlap, the field of physics is blessed with many insightful laws, while such laws are sadly absent in biology. Here we aim to discuss how the rise of a more recent field known as synthetic biology may allow us to more directly test hypotheses regarding the possible design principles of natural biological networks and systems. In particular, this review focuses on synthetic gene regulatory networks engineered to perform specific functions or exhibit particular dynamic behaviors. Advances in synthetic biology may set the stage to uncover the relationship of potential biological principles to those developed in physics. (review article)

  20. Synthetic biology and occupational risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, John; Murashov, Vladimir; Schulte, Paul

    2017-03-01

    Synthetic biology is an emerging interdisciplinary field of biotechnology that involves applying the principles of engineering and chemical design to biological systems. Biosafety professionals have done an excellent job in addressing research laboratory safety as synthetic biology and gene editing have emerged from the larger field of biotechnology. Despite these efforts, risks posed by synthetic biology are of increasing concern as research procedures scale up to industrial processes in the larger bioeconomy. A greater number and variety of workers will be exposed to commercial synthetic biology risks in the future, including risks to a variety of workers from the use of lentiviral vectors as gene transfer devices. There is a need to review and enhance current protection measures in the field of synthetic biology, whether in experimental laboratories where new advances are being researched, in health care settings where treatments using viral vectors as gene delivery systems are increasingly being used, or in the industrial bioeconomy. Enhanced worker protection measures should include increased injury and illness surveillance of the synthetic biology workforce; proactive risk assessment and management of synthetic biology products; research on the relative effectiveness of extrinsic and intrinsic biocontainment methods; specific safety guidance for synthetic biology industrial processes; determination of appropriate medical mitigation measures for lentiviral vector exposure incidents; and greater awareness and involvement in synthetic biology safety by the general occupational safety and health community as well as by government occupational safety and health research and regulatory agencies.

  1. Generating Systems Biology Markup Language Models from the Synthetic Biology Open Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roehner, Nicholas; Zhang, Zhen; Nguyen, Tramy; Myers, Chris J

    2015-08-21

    In the context of synthetic biology, model generation is the automated process of constructing biochemical models based on genetic designs. This paper discusses the use cases for model generation in genetic design automation (GDA) software tools and introduces the foundational concepts of standards and model annotation that make this process useful. Finally, this paper presents an implementation of model generation in the GDA software tool iBioSim and provides an example of generating a Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) model from a design of a 4-input AND sensor written in the Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL).

  2. Calibration method for a vision guiding-based laser-tracking measurement system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shao, Mingwei; Wei, Zhenzhong; Hu, Mengjie; Zhang, Guangjun

    2015-01-01

    Laser-tracking measurement systems (laser trackers) based on a vision-guiding device are widely used in industrial fields, and their calibration is important. As conventional methods typically have many disadvantages, such as difficult machining of the target and overdependence on the retroreflector, a novel calibration method is presented in this paper. The retroreflector, which is necessary in the normal calibration method, is unnecessary in our approach. As the laser beam is linear, points on the beam can be obtained with the help of a normal planar target. In this way, we can determine the function of a laser beam under the camera coordinate system, while its corresponding function under the laser-tracker coordinate system can be obtained from the encoder of the laser tracker. Clearly, when several groups of functions are confirmed, the rotation matrix can be solved from the direction vectors of the laser beams in different coordinate systems. As the intersection of the laser beams is the origin of the laser-tracker coordinate system, the translation matrix can also be determined. Our proposed method not only achieves the calibration of a single laser-tracking measurement system but also provides a reference for the calibration of a multistation system. Simulations to evaluate the effects of some critical factors were conducted. These simulations show the robustness and accuracy of our method. In real experiments, the root mean square error of the calibration result reached 1.46 mm within a range of 10 m, even though the vision-guiding device focuses on a point approximately 5 m away from the origin of its coordinate system, with a field of view of approximately 200 mm  ×  200 mm. (paper)

  3. Gestalt Principles for Attention and Segmentation in Natural and Artificial Vision Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Kootstra, Gert; Bergström, Niklas; Kragic, Danica

    2011-01-01

    Gestalt psychology studies how the human visual system organizes the complex visual input into unitary elements. In this paper we show how the Gestalt principles for perceptual grouping and for figure-ground segregation can be used in computer vision. A number of studies will be shown that demonstrate the applicability of Gestalt principles for the prediction of human visual attention and for the automatic detection and segmentation of unknown objects by a robotic system. QC 20111115 E...

  4. Automatic Welding System of Aluminum Pipe by Monitoring Backside Image of Molten Pool Using Vision Sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baskoro, Ario Sunar; Kabutomori, Masashi; Suga, Yasuo

    An automatic welding system using Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding with vision sensor for welding of aluminum pipe was constructed. This research studies the intelligent welding process of aluminum alloy pipe 6063S-T5 in fixed position and moving welding torch with the AC welding machine. The monitoring system consists of a vision sensor using a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera to monitor backside image of molten pool. The captured image was processed to recognize the edge of molten pool by image processing algorithm. Neural network model for welding speed control were constructed to perform the process automatically. From the experimental results it shows the effectiveness of the control system confirmed by good detection of molten pool and sound weld of experimental result.

  5. System of technical vision for autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bondarchuk, A. S.

    2018-05-01

    This paper is devoted to the implementation of image recognition algorithm using the LabVIEW software. The created virtual instrument is designed to detect the objects on the frames from the camera mounted on the UAV. The trained classifier is invariant to changes in rotation, as well as to small changes in the camera's viewing angle. Finding objects in the image using particle analysis, allows you to classify regions of different sizes. This method allows the system of technical vision to more accurately determine the location of the objects of interest and their movement relative to the camera.

  6. Designing synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agapakis, Christina M

    2014-03-21

    Synthetic biology is frequently defined as the application of engineering design principles to biology. Such principles are intended to streamline the practice of biological engineering, to shorten the time required to design, build, and test synthetic gene networks. This streamlining of iterative design cycles can facilitate the future construction of biological systems for a range of applications in the production of fuels, foods, materials, and medicines. The promise of these potential applications as well as the emphasis on design has prompted critical reflection on synthetic biology from design theorists and practicing designers from many fields, who can bring valuable perspectives to the discipline. While interdisciplinary connections between biologists and engineers have built synthetic biology via the science and the technology of biology, interdisciplinary collaboration with artists, designers, and social theorists can provide insight on the connections between technology and society. Such collaborations can open up new avenues and new principles for research and design, as well as shed new light on the challenging context-dependence-both biological and social-that face living technologies at many scales. This review is inspired by the session titled "Design and Synthetic Biology: Connecting People and Technology" at Synthetic Biology 6.0 and covers a range of literature on design practice in synthetic biology and beyond. Critical engagement with how design is used to shape the discipline opens up new possibilities for how we might design the future of synthetic biology.

  7. 2020 Vision for Tank Waste Cleanup (One System Integration) - 12506

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harp, Benton; Charboneau, Stacy; Olds, Erik [US DOE (United States)

    2012-07-01

    The mission of the Department of Energy's Office of River Protection (ORP) is to safely retrieve and treat the 56 million gallons of Hanford's tank waste and close the Tank Farms to protect the Columbia River. The millions of gallons of waste are a by-product of decades of plutonium production. After irradiated fuel rods were taken from the nuclear reactors to the processing facilities at Hanford they were exposed to a series of chemicals designed to dissolve away the rod, which enabled workers to retrieve the plutonium. Once those chemicals were exposed to the fuel rods they became radioactive and extremely hot. They also couldn't be used in this process more than once. Because the chemicals are caustic and extremely hazardous to humans and the environment, underground storage tanks were built to hold these chemicals until a more permanent solution could be found. The Cleanup of Hanford's 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste stored in 177 large underground tanks represents the Department's largest and most complex environmental remediation project. Sixty percent by volume of the nation's high-level radioactive waste is stored in the underground tanks grouped into 18 'tank farms' on Hanford's central plateau. Hanford's mission to safely remove, treat and dispose of this waste includes the construction of a first-of-its-kind Waste Treatment Plant (WTP), ongoing retrieval of waste from single-shell tanks, and building or upgrading the waste feed delivery infrastructure that will deliver the waste to and support operations of the WTP beginning in 2019. Our discussion of the 2020 Vision for Hanford tank waste cleanup will address the significant progress made to date and ongoing activities to manage the operations of the tank farms and WTP as a single system capable of retrieving, delivering, treating and disposing Hanford's tank waste. The initiation of hot operations and subsequent full operations

  8. Models for synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaznessis, Yiannis N

    2007-11-06

    Synthetic biological engineering is emerging from biology as a distinct discipline based on quantification. The technologies propelling synthetic biology are not new, nor is the concept of designing novel biological molecules. What is new is the emphasis on system behavior. The objective is the design and construction of new biological devices and systems to deliver useful applications. Numerous synthetic gene circuits have been created in the past decade, including bistable switches, oscillators, and logic gates, and possible applications abound, including biofuels, detectors for biochemical and chemical weapons, disease diagnosis, and gene therapies. More than fifty years after the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA, molecular biology is mature enough for real quantification that is useful for biological engineering applications, similar to the revolution in modeling in chemistry in the 1950s. With the excitement that synthetic biology is generating, the engineering and biological science communities appear remarkably willing to cross disciplinary boundaries toward a common goal.

  9. Pediatric Low Vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Asked Questions Español Condiciones Chinese Conditions Pediatric Low Vision What is Low Vision? Partial vision loss that cannot be corrected causes ... and play. What are the signs of Low Vision? Some signs of low vision include difficulty recognizing ...

  10. FPGA-based multimodal embedded sensor system integrating low- and mid-level vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botella, Guillermo; Martín H, José Antonio; Santos, Matilde; Meyer-Baese, Uwe

    2011-01-01

    Motion estimation is a low-level vision task that is especially relevant due to its wide range of applications in the real world. Many of the best motion estimation algorithms include some of the features that are found in mammalians, which would demand huge computational resources and therefore are not usually available in real-time. In this paper we present a novel bioinspired sensor based on the synergy between optical flow and orthogonal variant moments. The bioinspired sensor has been designed for Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) using properties of the mammalian cortical motion pathway. This sensor combines low-level primitives (optical flow and image moments) in order to produce a mid-level vision abstraction layer. The results are described trough experiments showing the validity of the proposed system and an analysis of the computational resources and performance of the applied algorithms.

  11. Low Vision FAQs

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... de los Ojos Cómo hablarle a su oculista Low Vision FAQs What is low vision? Low vision is a visual impairment, not correctable ... person’s ability to perform everyday activities. What causes low vision? Low vision can result from a variety of ...

  12. Active Vision for Sociable Robots

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Breazeal, Cynthia; Edsinger, Aaron; Fitzpatrick, Paul; Scassellati, Brian

    2001-01-01

    .... In humanoid robotic systems, or in any animate vision system that interacts with people, social dynamics provide additional levels of constraint and provide additional opportunities for processing economy...

  13. Social Constraints on Animate Vision

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Breazeal, Cynthia; Edsinger, Aaron; Fitzpatrick, Paul; Scassellati, Brian

    2000-01-01

    .... In humanoid robotic systems, or in any animate vision system that interacts with people, social dynamics provide additional levels of constraint and provide additional opportunities for processing economy...

  14. Monocular Vision System for Fixed Altitude Flight of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuo-Lung Huang

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The fastest and most economical method of acquiring terrain images is aerial photography. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs has been investigated for this task. However, UAVs present a range of challenges such as flight altitude maintenance. This paper reports a method that combines skyline detection with a stereo vision algorithm to enable the flight altitude of UAVs to be maintained. A monocular camera is mounted on the downside of the aircraft’s nose to collect continuous ground images, and the relative altitude is obtained via a stereo vision algorithm from the velocity of the UAV. Image detection is used to obtain terrain images, and to measure the relative altitude from the ground to the UAV. The UAV flight system can be set to fly at a fixed and relatively low altitude to obtain the same resolution of ground images. A forward-looking camera is mounted on the upside of the aircraft’s nose. In combination with the skyline detection algorithm, this helps the aircraft to maintain a stable flight pattern. Experimental results show that the proposed system enables UAVs to obtain terrain images at constant resolution, and to detect the relative altitude along the flight path.

  15. Vision and Vestibular System Dysfunction Predicts Prolonged Concussion Recovery in Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Master, Christina L; Master, Stephen R; Wiebe, Douglas J; Storey, Eileen P; Lockyer, Julia E; Podolak, Olivia E; Grady, Matthew F

    2018-03-01

    Up to one-third of children with concussion have prolonged symptoms lasting beyond 4 weeks. Vision and vestibular dysfunction is common after concussion. It is unknown whether such dysfunction predicts prolonged recovery. We sought to determine which vision or vestibular problems predict prolonged recovery in children. A retrospective cohort of pediatric patients with concussion. A subspecialty pediatric concussion program. Four hundred thirty-two patient records were abstracted. Presence of vision or vestibular dysfunction upon presentation to the subspecialty concussion program. The main outcome of interest was time to clinical recovery, defined by discharge from clinical follow-up, including resolution of acute symptoms, resumption of normal physical and cognitive activity, and normalization of physical examination findings to functional levels. Study subjects were 5 to 18 years (median = 14). A total of 378 of 432 subjects (88%) presented with vision or vestibular problems. A history of motion sickness was associated with vestibular dysfunction. Younger age, public insurance, and presence of headache were associated with later presentation for subspecialty concussion care. Vision and vestibular problems were associated within distinct clusters. Provocable symptoms with vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and smooth pursuits and abnormal balance and accommodative amplitude (AA) predicted prolonged recovery time. Vision and vestibular problems predict prolonged concussion recovery in children. A history of motion sickness may be an important premorbid factor. Public insurance status may represent problems with disparities in access to concussion care. Vision assessments in concussion must include smooth pursuits, saccades, near point of convergence (NPC), and accommodative amplitude (AA). A comprehensive, multidomain assessment is essential to predict prolonged recovery time and enable active intervention with specific school accommodations and targeted rehabilitation.

  16. Reinforcement learning in computer vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernstein, A. V.; Burnaev, E. V.

    2018-04-01

    Nowadays, machine learning has become one of the basic technologies used in solving various computer vision tasks such as feature detection, image segmentation, object recognition and tracking. In many applications, various complex systems such as robots are equipped with visual sensors from which they learn state of surrounding environment by solving corresponding computer vision tasks. Solutions of these tasks are used for making decisions about possible future actions. It is not surprising that when solving computer vision tasks we should take into account special aspects of their subsequent application in model-based predictive control. Reinforcement learning is one of modern machine learning technologies in which learning is carried out through interaction with the environment. In recent years, Reinforcement learning has been used both for solving such applied tasks as processing and analysis of visual information, and for solving specific computer vision problems such as filtering, extracting image features, localizing objects in scenes, and many others. The paper describes shortly the Reinforcement learning technology and its use for solving computer vision problems.

  17. Integral Images: Efficient Algorithms for Their Computation and Storage in Resource-Constrained Embedded Vision Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehsan, Shoaib; Clark, Adrian F; Naveed ur Rehman; McDonald-Maier, Klaus D

    2015-07-10

    The integral image, an intermediate image representation, has found extensive use in multi-scale local feature detection algorithms, such as Speeded-Up Robust Features (SURF), allowing fast computation of rectangular features at constant speed, independent of filter size. For resource-constrained real-time embedded vision systems, computation and storage of integral image presents several design challenges due to strict timing and hardware limitations. Although calculation of the integral image only consists of simple addition operations, the total number of operations is large owing to the generally large size of image data. Recursive equations allow substantial decrease in the number of operations but require calculation in a serial fashion. This paper presents two new hardware algorithms that are based on the decomposition of these recursive equations, allowing calculation of up to four integral image values in a row-parallel way without significantly increasing the number of operations. An efficient design strategy is also proposed for a parallel integral image computation unit to reduce the size of the required internal memory (nearly 35% for common HD video). Addressing the storage problem of integral image in embedded vision systems, the paper presents two algorithms which allow substantial decrease (at least 44.44%) in the memory requirements. Finally, the paper provides a case study that highlights the utility of the proposed architectures in embedded vision systems.

  18. Integral Images: Efficient Algorithms for Their Computation and Storage in Resource-Constrained Embedded Vision Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shoaib Ehsan

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The integral image, an intermediate image representation, has found extensive use in multi-scale local feature detection algorithms, such as Speeded-Up Robust Features (SURF, allowing fast computation of rectangular features at constant speed, independent of filter size. For resource-constrained real-time embedded vision systems, computation and storage of integral image presents several design challenges due to strict timing and hardware limitations. Although calculation of the integral image only consists of simple addition operations, the total number of operations is large owing to the generally large size of image data. Recursive equations allow substantial decrease in the number of operations but require calculation in a serial fashion. This paper presents two new hardware algorithms that are based on the decomposition of these recursive equations, allowing calculation of up to four integral image values in a row-parallel way without significantly increasing the number of operations. An efficient design strategy is also proposed for a parallel integral image computation unit to reduce the size of the required internal memory (nearly 35% for common HD video. Addressing the storage problem of integral image in embedded vision systems, the paper presents two algorithms which allow substantial decrease (at least 44.44% in the memory requirements. Finally, the paper provides a case study that highlights the utility of the proposed architectures in embedded vision systems.

  19. The secret world of shrimps: polarisation vision at its best.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sonja Kleinlogel

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Animal vision spans a great range of complexity, with systems evolving to detect variations in light intensity, distribution, colour, and polarisation. Polarisation vision systems studied to date detect one to four channels of linear polarisation, combining them in opponent pairs to provide intensity-independent operation. Circular polarisation vision has never been seen, and is widely believed to play no part in animal vision. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Polarisation is fully measured via Stokes' parameters--obtained by combined linear and circular polarisation measurements. Optimal polarisation vision is the ability to see Stokes' parameters: here we show that the crustacean Gonodactylus smithii measures the exact components required. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This vision provides optimal contrast-enhancement and precise determination of polarisation with no confusion states or neutral points--significant advantages. Linear and circular polarisation each give partial information about the polarisation of light--but the combination of the two, as we will show here, results in optimal polarisation vision. We suggest that linear and circular polarisation vision not be regarded as different modalities, since both are necessary for optimal polarisation vision; their combination renders polarisation vision independent of strongly linearly or circularly polarised features in the animal's environment.

  20. Performance of Color Camera Machine Vision in Automated Furniture Rough Mill Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    D. Earl Kline; Agus Widoyoko; Janice K. Wiedenbeck; Philip A. Araman

    1998-01-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of color camera machine vision for lumber processing in a furniture rough mill. The study used 134 red oak boards to compare the performance of automated gang-rip-first rough mill yield based on a prototype color camera lumber inspection system developed at Virginia Tech with both estimated optimum rough mill...

  1. Long-term energy output estimation for photovoltaic energy systems using synthetic solar irradiation data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Celik, A.N.

    2003-01-01

    A general methodology is presented to estimate the monthly average daily energy output from photovoltaic energy systems. Energy output is estimated from synthetically generated solar radiation data. The synthetic solar radiation data are generated based on the cumulative frequency distribution of the daily clearness index, given as a function of the monthly clearness index. Two sets of synthetic solar irradiation data are generated: 3- and 4-day months. In the 3-day month, each month is represented by 3 days and in the 4-day month, by 4 days. The 3- and 4-day solar irradiation data are synthetically generated for each month and the corresponding energy outputs are calculated. A total of 8-year long measured hourly solar irradiation data, from five different locations in the world, is used to validate the new model. The monthly energy output values calculated from the synthetic solar irradiation data are compared to those calculated from the measured hour-by-hour data. It is shown that when the measured solar radiation data do not exist for a particular location or reduced data set is advantageous, the energy output from photovoltaic converters could be correctly calculated

  2. MIDAS: A Modular DNA Assembly System for Synthetic Biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Dolleweerd, Craig J; Kessans, Sarah A; Van de Bittner, Kyle C; Bustamante, Leyla Y; Bundela, Rudranuj; Scott, Barry; Nicholson, Matthew J; Parker, Emily J

    2018-04-20

    A modular and hierarchical DNA assembly platform for synthetic biology based on Golden Gate (Type IIS restriction enzyme) cloning is described. This enabling technology, termed MIDAS (for Modular Idempotent DNA Assembly System), can be used to precisely assemble multiple DNA fragments in a single reaction using a standardized assembly design. It can be used to build genes from libraries of sequence-verified, reusable parts and to assemble multiple genes in a single vector, with full user control over gene order and orientation, as well as control of the direction of growth (polarity) of the multigene assembly, a feature that allows genes to be nested between other genes or genetic elements. We describe the detailed design and use of MIDAS, exemplified by the reconstruction, in the filamentous fungus Penicillium paxilli, of the metabolic pathway for production of paspaline and paxilline, key intermediates in the biosynthesis of a range of indole diterpenes-a class of secondary metabolites produced by several species of filamentous fungi. MIDAS was used to efficiently assemble a 25.2 kb plasmid from 21 different modules (seven genes, each composed of three basic parts). By using a parts library-based system for construction of complex assemblies, and a unique set of vectors, MIDAS can provide a flexible route to assembling tailored combinations of genes and other genetic elements, thereby supporting synthetic biology applications in a wide range of expression hosts.

  3. Building Artificial Vision Systems with Machine Learning

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    LeCun, Yann [New York University

    2011-02-23

    Three questions pose the next challenge for Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, and neuroscience. How do we learn perception (e.g. vision)? How do we learn representations of the perceptual world? How do we learn visual categories from just a few examples?

  4. Tissue Harmonic Synthetic Aperture Imaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Joachim

    The main purpose of this PhD project is to develop an ultrasonic method for tissue harmonic synthetic aperture imaging. The motivation is to advance the field of synthetic aperture imaging in ultrasound, which has shown great potentials in the clinic. Suggestions for synthetic aperture tissue...... system complexity compared to conventional synthetic aperture techniques. In this project, SASB is sought combined with a pulse inversion technique for 2nd harmonic tissue harmonic imaging. The advantages in tissue harmonic imaging (THI) are expected to further improve the image quality of SASB...

  5. Synthetic multicellular oscillatory systems: controlling protein dynamics with genetic circuits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koseska, Aneta; Volkov, Evgenii; Kurths, Juergen

    2011-01-01

    Synthetic biology is a relatively new research discipline that combines standard biology approaches with the constructive nature of engineering. Thus, recent efforts in the field of synthetic biology have given a perspective to consider cells as 'programmable matter'. Here, we address the possibility of using synthetic circuits to control protein dynamics. In particular, we show how intercellular communication and stochasticity can be used to manipulate the dynamical behavior of a population of coupled synthetic units and, in this manner, finely tune the expression of specific proteins of interest, e.g. in large bioreactors.

  6. ABCs of foveal vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matchko, Roy M.; Gerhart, Grant R.

    2001-12-01

    This paper presents a simple mathematical performance model of the human foveal vision system based on an extensive analysis of the Blackwell-McCready (BM) data set. It includes a closed-form equation, the (ABC)t law, that allows the analyst to predict the entire range of BM threshold data. Relationships are derived among the four fundamental parameters of foveal vision: target area A, background luminance B, threshold contrast C, and stimulus presentation time t. Hyperbolic-curve fits on log-log plots of the data lead to the well-known laws of Ricco, Blackwell, Weber and Fechner, and Bloch. This paper unifies important relationships associated with target and background scene parameters as they relate to the human foveal vision process. The process of detecting a BM target, using foveal vision, is reduced to the total temporal summation of light energy modified by a multiplicative energy ratio. A stochastic model of human observer performance is presented in terms of a cumulative Gaussian distribution, which is a function of the apparent and BM contrast threshold values.

  7. Estimation of Theaflavins (TF) and Thearubigins (TR) Ratio in Black Tea Liquor Using Electronic Vision System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akuli, Amitava; Pal, Abhra; Ghosh, Arunangshu; Bhattacharyya, Nabarun; Bandhopadhyya, Rajib; Tamuly, Pradip; Gogoi, Nagen

    2011-09-01

    Quality of black tea is generally assessed using organoleptic tests by professional tea tasters. They determine the quality of black tea based on its appearance (in dry condition and during liquor formation), aroma and taste. Variation in the above parameters is actually contributed by a number of chemical compounds like, Theaflavins (TF), Thearubigins (TR), Caffeine, Linalool, Geraniol etc. Among the above, TF and TR are the most important chemical compounds, which actually contribute to the formation of taste, colour and brightness in tea liquor. Estimation of TF and TR in black tea is generally done using a spectrophotometer instrument. But, the analysis technique undergoes a rigorous and time consuming effort for sample preparation; also the operation of costly spectrophotometer requires expert manpower. To overcome above problems an Electronic Vision System based on digital image processing technique has been developed. The system is faster, low cost, repeatable and can estimate the amount of TF and TR ratio for black tea liquor with accuracy. The data analysis is done using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and Multiple Discriminate Analysis (MDA). A correlation has been established between colour of tea liquor images and TF, TR ratio. This paper describes the newly developed E-Vision system, experimental methods, data analysis algorithms and finally, the performance of the E-Vision System as compared to the results of traditional spectrophotometer.

  8. Neural Summation in the Hawkmoth Visual System Extends the Limits of Vision in Dim Light.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stöckl, Anna Lisa; O'Carroll, David Charles; Warrant, Eric James

    2016-03-21

    Most of the world's animals are active in dim light and depend on good vision for the tasks of daily life. Many have evolved visual adaptations that permit a performance superior to that of manmade imaging devices [1]. In insects, a major model visual system, nocturnal species show impressive visual abilities ranging from flight control [2, 3], to color discrimination [4, 5], to navigation using visual landmarks [6-8] or dim celestial compass cues [9, 10]. In addition to optical adaptations that improve their sensitivity in dim light [11], neural summation of light in space and time-which enhances the coarser and slower features of the scene at the expense of noisier finer and faster features-has been suggested to improve sensitivity in theoretical [12-14], anatomical [15-17], and behavioral [18-20] studies. How these summation strategies function neurally is, however, presently unknown. Here, we quantified spatial and temporal summation in the motion vision pathway of a nocturnal hawkmoth. We show that spatial and temporal summation combine supralinearly to substantially increase contrast sensitivity and visual information rate over four decades of light intensity, enabling hawkmoths to see at light levels 100 times dimmer than without summation. Our results reveal how visual motion is calculated neurally in dim light and how spatial and temporal summation improve sensitivity while simultaneously maximizing spatial and temporal resolution, thus extending models of insect motion vision derived predominantly from diurnal flies. Moreover, the summation strategies we have revealed may benefit manmade vision systems optimized for variable light levels [21]. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Development of fuel cell systems for aircraft applications based on synthetic fuels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pasel, J.; Samsun, R.C.; Doell, C.; Peters, R.; Stolten, D. [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH (Germany)

    2010-07-01

    At present, in the aviation sector considerable scientific project work deals with the development of fuel cell systems based on synthetic fuels to be integrated in future aircraft. The benefits of fuel cell systems in aircraft are various. They offer the possibility to simplify the aircraft layout. Important systems, i.e. the gas turbine powered auxiliary power unit (APU) for electricity supply, the fuel tank inserting system and the water tank, can be substituted by one single system, the fuel cell system. Additionally, the energy demand for ice protection can be covered assisted by fuel cell systems. These measures reduce the consumption of jet fuel, increase aircraft efficiency and allow the operation at low emissions. Additionally, the costs for aircraft related investments, for aircraft maintenance and operation can be reduced. On the background of regular discussions about environmental concerns (global warming) of kerosene Jet A-1 and its availability, which might be restricted in a few years, the aircraft industry is keen to employ synthetic, sulfur-free fuels such as Fischer-Tropsch fuels. These comprise Bio-To-Liquid and Gas-To-Liquid fuels. Within this field of research the Institute of Energy Research (IEF-3) in Juelich develops complete and compact fuel cell systems based on the autothermal reforming of these kinds of fuels in cooperation with industry. This paper reports about this work. (orig.)

  10. 3D vision in a virtual reality robotics environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schutz, Christian L.; Natonek, Emerico; Baur, Charles; Hugli, Heinz

    1996-12-01

    Virtual reality robotics (VRR) needs sensing feedback from the real environment. To show how advanced 3D vision provides new perspectives to fulfill these needs, this paper presents an architecture and system that integrates hybrid 3D vision and VRR and reports about experiments and results. The first section discusses the advantages of virtual reality in robotics, the potential of a 3D vision system in VRR and the contribution of a knowledge database, robust control and the combination of intensity and range imaging to build such a system. Section two presents the different modules of a hybrid 3D vision architecture based on hypothesis generation and verification. Section three addresses the problem of the recognition of complex, free- form 3D objects and shows how and why the newer approaches based on geometric matching solve the problem. This free- form matching can be efficiently integrated in a VRR system as a hypothesis generation knowledge-based 3D vision system. In the fourth part, we introduce the hypothesis verification based on intensity images which checks object pose and texture. Finally, we show how this system has been implemented and operates in a practical VRR environment used for an assembly task.

  11. Artificial intelligence and computer vision

    CERN Document Server

    Li, Yujie

    2017-01-01

    This edited book presents essential findings in the research fields of artificial intelligence and computer vision, with a primary focus on new research ideas and results for mathematical problems involved in computer vision systems. The book provides an international forum for researchers to summarize the most recent developments and ideas in the field, with a special emphasis on the technical and observational results obtained in the past few years.

  12. EAST-AIA deployment under vacuum: Calibration of laser diagnostic system using computer vision

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Yang, E-mail: yangyang@ipp.ac.cn [Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 350 Shushanhu Rd, Hefei, Anhui (China); Song, Yuntao; Cheng, Yong; Feng, Hansheng; Wu, Zhenwei; Li, Yingying; Sun, Yongjun; Zheng, Lei [Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 350 Shushanhu Rd, Hefei, Anhui (China); Bruno, Vincent; Eric, Villedieu [CEA-IRFM, F-13108 Saint-Paul-Lez-Durance (France)

    2016-11-15

    Highlights: • The first deployment of the EAST articulated inspection arm robot under vacuum is presented. • A computer vision based approach to measure the laser spot displacement is proposed. • An experiment on the real EAST tokamak is performed to validate the proposed measure approach, and the results shows that the measurement accuracy satisfies the requirement. - Abstract: For the operation of EAST tokamak, it is crucial to ensure that all the diagnostic systems are in the good condition in order to reflect the plasma status properly. However, most of the diagnostic systems are mounted inside the tokamak vacuum vessel, which makes them extremely difficult to maintain under high vacuum condition during the tokamak operation. Thanks to a system called EAST articulated inspection arm robot (EAST-AIA), the examination of these in-vessel diagnostic systems can be performed by an embedded camera carried by the robot. In this paper, a computer vision algorithm has been developed to calibrate a laser diagnostic system with the help of a monocular camera at the robot end. In order to estimate the displacement of the laser diagnostic system with respect to the vacuum vessel, several visual markers were attached to the inner wall. This experiment was conducted both on the EAST vacuum vessel mock-up and the real EAST tokamak under vacuum condition. As a result, the accuracy of the displacement measurement was within 3 mm under the current camera resolution, which satisfied the laser diagnostic system calibration.

  13. Vision-Inspection System for Residue Monitoring of Ready-Mixed Concrete Trucks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deok-Seok Seo

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study is to propose a vision-inspection system that improves the quality management for ready-mixed concrete (RMC. The proposed system can serve as an alternative to the current visual inspection method for the detection of residues in agitator drum of RMC truck. To propose the system, concept development and the system-level design should be executed. The design considerations of the system are derived from the hardware properties of RMC truck and the conditions of RMC factory, and then 6 major components of the system are selected in the stage of system level design. The prototype of system was applied to a real RMC plant and tested for verification of its utility and efficiency. It is expected that the proposed system can be employed as a practical means to increase the efficiency of quality management for RMC.

  14. Design And Implementation Of Integrated Vision-Based Robotic Workcells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Michael J.

    1985-01-01

    Reports have been sparse on large-scale, intelligent integration of complete robotic systems for automating the microelectronics industry. This paper describes the application of state-of-the-art computer-vision technology for manufacturing of miniaturized electronic components. The concepts of FMS - Flexible Manufacturing Systems, work cells, and work stations and their control hierarchy are illustrated in this paper. Several computer-controlled work cells used in the production of thin-film magnetic heads are described. These cells use vision for in-process control of head-fixture alignment and real-time inspection of production parameters. The vision sensor and other optoelectronic sensors, coupled with transport mechanisms such as steppers, x-y-z tables, and robots, have created complete sensorimotor systems. These systems greatly increase the manufacturing throughput as well as the quality of the final product. This paper uses these automated work cells as examples to exemplify the underlying design philosophy and principles in the fabrication of vision-based robotic systems.

  15. Vision Based Autonomous Robot Navigation Algorithms and Implementations

    CERN Document Server

    Chatterjee, Amitava; Nirmal Singh, N

    2013-01-01

    This book is devoted to the theory and development of autonomous navigation of mobile robots using computer vision based sensing mechanism. The conventional robot navigation systems, utilizing traditional sensors like ultrasonic, IR, GPS, laser sensors etc., suffer several drawbacks related to either the physical limitations of the sensor or incur high cost. Vision sensing has emerged as a popular alternative where cameras can be used to reduce the overall cost, maintaining high degree of intelligence, flexibility and robustness. This book includes a detailed description of several new approaches for real life vision based autonomous navigation algorithms and SLAM. It presents the concept of how subgoal based goal-driven navigation can be carried out using vision sensing. The development concept of vision based robots for path/line tracking using fuzzy logic is presented, as well as how a low-cost robot can be indigenously developed in the laboratory with microcontroller based sensor systems. The book descri...

  16. Creating photorealistic virtual model with polarization-based vision system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shibata, Takushi; Takahashi, Toru; Miyazaki, Daisuke; Sato, Yoichi; Ikeuchi, Katsushi

    2005-08-01

    Recently, 3D models are used in many fields such as education, medical services, entertainment, art, digital archive, etc., because of the progress of computational time and demand for creating photorealistic virtual model is increasing for higher reality. In computer vision field, a number of techniques have been developed for creating the virtual model by observing the real object in computer vision field. In this paper, we propose the method for creating photorealistic virtual model by using laser range sensor and polarization based image capture system. We capture the range and color images of the object which is rotated on the rotary table. By using the reconstructed object shape and sequence of color images of the object, parameter of a reflection model are estimated in a robust manner. As a result, then, we can make photorealistic 3D model in consideration of surface reflection. The key point of the proposed method is that, first, the diffuse and specular reflection components are separated from the color image sequence, and then, reflectance parameters of each reflection component are estimated separately. In separation of reflection components, we use polarization filter. This approach enables estimation of reflectance properties of real objects whose surfaces show specularity as well as diffusely reflected lights. The recovered object shape and reflectance properties are then used for synthesizing object images with realistic shading effects under arbitrary illumination conditions.

  17. Laser cutting of irregular shape object based on stereo vision laser galvanometric scanning system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Li; Zhang, Yixin; Wang, Shun; Tang, Zhiqiang; Yang, Huan; Zhang, Xuping

    2015-05-01

    Irregular shape objects with different 3-dimensional (3D) appearances are difficult to be shaped into customized uniform pattern by current laser machining approaches. A laser galvanometric scanning system (LGS) could be a potential candidate since it can easily achieve path-adjustable laser shaping. However, without knowing the actual 3D topography of the object, the processing result may still suffer from 3D shape distortion. It is desirable to have a versatile auxiliary tool that is capable of generating 3D-adjusted laser processing path by measuring the 3D geometry of those irregular shape objects. This paper proposed the stereo vision laser galvanometric scanning system (SLGS), which takes the advantages of both the stereo vision solution and conventional LGS system. The 3D geometry of the object obtained by the stereo cameras is used to guide the scanning galvanometers for 3D-shape-adjusted laser processing. In order to achieve precise visual-servoed laser fabrication, these two independent components are integrated through a system calibration method using plastic thin film target. The flexibility of SLGS has been experimentally demonstrated by cutting duck feathers for badminton shuttle manufacture.

  18. Analysis of Microbe-Associated Molecular Pattern-Responsive Synthetic Promoters with the Parsley Protoplast System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanofsky, Konstantin; Lehmeyer, Mona; Schulze, Jutta; Hehl, Reinhard

    2016-01-01

    Plants recognize pathogens by microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) and subsequently induce an immune response. The regulation of gene expression during the immune response depends largely on cis-sequences conserved in promoters of MAMP-responsive genes. These cis-sequences can be analyzed by constructing synthetic promoters linked to a reporter gene and by testing these constructs in transient expression systems. Here, the use of the parsley (Petroselinum crispum) protoplast system for analyzing MAMP-responsive synthetic promoters is described. The synthetic promoter consists of four copies of a potential MAMP-responsive cis-sequence cloned upstream of a minimal promoter and the uidA reporter gene. The reporter plasmid contains a second reporter gene, which is constitutively expressed and hence eliminates the requirement of a second plasmid used as a transformation control. The reporter plasmid is transformed into parsley protoplasts that are elicited by the MAMP Pep25. The MAMP responsiveness is validated by comparing the reporter gene activity from MAMP-treated and untreated cells and by normalizing reporter gene activity using the constitutively expressed reporter gene.

  19. Visual system plasticity in mammals: the story of monocular enucleation-induced vision loss

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nys, Julie; Scheyltjens, Isabelle; Arckens, Lutgarde

    2015-01-01

    The groundbreaking work of Hubel and Wiesel in the 1960’s on ocular dominance plasticity instigated many studies of the visual system of mammals, enriching our understanding of how the development of its structure and function depends on high quality visual input through both eyes. These studies have mainly employed lid suturing, dark rearing and eye patching applied to different species to reduce or impair visual input, and have created extensive knowledge on binocular vision. However, not all aspects and types of plasticity in the visual cortex have been covered in full detail. In that regard, a more drastic deprivation method like enucleation, leading to complete vision loss appears useful as it has more widespread effects on the afferent visual pathway and even on non-visual brain regions. One-eyed vision due to monocular enucleation (ME) profoundly affects the contralateral retinorecipient subcortical and cortical structures thereby creating a powerful means to investigate cortical plasticity phenomena in which binocular competition has no vote.In this review, we will present current knowledge about the specific application of ME as an experimental tool to study visual and cross-modal brain plasticity and compare early postnatal stages up into adulthood. The structural and physiological consequences of this type of extensive sensory loss as documented and studied in several animal species and human patients will be discussed. We will summarize how ME studies have been instrumental to our current understanding of the differentiation of sensory systems and how the structure and function of cortical circuits in mammals are shaped in response to such an extensive alteration in experience. In conclusion, we will highlight future perspectives and the clinical relevance of adding ME to the list of more longstanding deprivation models in visual system research. PMID:25972788

  20. Grounding Our Vision: Brain Research and Strategic Vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Mike

    2011-01-01

    While recognizing the value of "vision," it could be argued that vision alone--at least in schools--is not enough to rally the financial and emotional support required to translate an idea into reality. A compelling vision needs to reflect substantive, research-based knowledge if it is to spark the kind of strategic thinking and insight…

  1. Night vision imaging system design, integration and verification in spacecraft vacuum thermal test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Yonghong; Wang, Jing; Gong, Zhe; Li, Xiyuan; Pei, Yifei; Bai, Tingzhu; Zhen, Haijing

    2015-08-01

    The purposes of spacecraft vacuum thermal test are to characterize the thermal control systems of the spacecraft and its component in its cruise configuration and to allow for early retirement of risks associated with mission-specific and novel thermal designs. The orbit heat flux is simulating by infrared lamp, infrared cage or electric heater. As infrared cage and electric heater do not emit visible light, or infrared lamp just emits limited visible light test, ordinary camera could not operate due to low luminous density in test. Moreover, some special instruments such as satellite-borne infrared sensors are sensitive to visible light and it couldn't compensate light during test. For improving the ability of fine monitoring on spacecraft and exhibition of test progress in condition of ultra-low luminous density, night vision imaging system is designed and integrated by BISEE. System is consist of high-gain image intensifier ICCD camera, assistant luminance system, glare protect system, thermal control system and computer control system. The multi-frame accumulation target detect technology is adopted for high quality image recognition in captive test. Optical system, mechanical system and electrical system are designed and integrated highly adaptable to vacuum environment. Molybdenum/Polyimide thin film electrical heater controls the temperature of ICCD camera. The results of performance validation test shown that system could operate under vacuum thermal environment of 1.33×10-3Pa vacuum degree and 100K shroud temperature in the space environment simulator, and its working temperature is maintains at 5° during two-day test. The night vision imaging system could obtain video quality of 60lp/mm resolving power.

  2. Evolution of Vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ostrovsky, Mikhail

    The evolution of photoreception, giving rise to eye, offers a kaleidoscopic view on selection acting at both the organ and molecular levels. The molecular level is mainly considered in the lecture. The greatest progress to date has been made in relation to the opsin visual pigments. Opsins appeared before eyes did. Two- and three-dimensional organization for rhodopsin in the rod outer segment disk membrane, as well as molecular mechanisms of visual pigments spectral tuning, photoisomerization and also opsin as a G-protein coupled receptor are considered. Molecular mechanisms of visual pigments spectral tuning, namely switching of chromophore (physiological time scale) and amino acid changes in the chromophore site of opsin (evolutionary time scale) is considered in the lecture. Photoisomerization of rhodopsin chromophore, 11-cis retinal is the only photochemical reaction in vision. The reaction is extemely fast (less that 200 fs) and high efficient (. is 0.65). The rhodopsin photolysis and kinetics of the earlier products appearance, photo- and bathorhodopsin, is considered. It is known that light is not only a carrier of information, but also a risk factor of damage to the eye. This photobiological paradox of vision is mainly due to the nature of rhodopsin chromophore. Photooxidation is the base of the paradox. All factors present in the phototrceptor cells to initiate free-radical photooxidation: photosensitizers, oxygen and substrates of oxidation: lipids and proteins (opsin). That is why photoprotective system of the eye structures appeared in the course of evolution. Three lines of protective system to prevent light damage to the retina and retina pigment epithelium is known: permanent renewal of rod and cone outer segment, powerful antioxidant system and optical media as cut-off filters where the lens is a key component. The molecular mechanisms of light damage to the eye and photoprotective system of the eye is considered in the lecture. The molecular

  3. Synthetic biology: an emerging engineering discipline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Allen A; Lu, Timothy K

    2012-01-01

    Over the past decade, synthetic biology has emerged as an engineering discipline for biological systems. Compared with other substrates, biology poses a unique set of engineering challenges resulting from an incomplete understanding of natural biological systems and tools for manipulating them. To address these challenges, synthetic biology is advancing from developing proof-of-concept designs to focusing on core platforms for rational and high-throughput biological engineering. These platforms span the entire biological design cycle, including DNA construction, parts libraries, computational design tools, and interfaces for manipulating and probing synthetic circuits. The development of these enabling technologies requires an engineering mindset to be applied to biology, with an emphasis on generalizable techniques in addition to application-specific designs. This review aims to discuss the progress and challenges in synthetic biology and to illustrate areas where synthetic biology may impact biomedical engineering and human health.

  4. Age-Related Psychophysical Changes and Low Vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dagnelie, Gislin

    2013-01-01

    When considering the burden of visual impairment on aging individuals and society at large, it is important to bear in mind that vision changes are a natural aspect of aging. In this article, we consider vision changes that are part of normal aging, the prevalence of abnormal vision changes caused by disorders of the visual system, and the anticipated incidence and impact of visual impairment as the US population ages. We then discuss the services available to reduce the impact of vision loss, and the extent to which those services can and should be improved, not only to be better prepared for the anticipated increase in low vision over the coming decades, but also to increase the awareness of interactions between visual impairment and comorbidities that are common among the elderly. Finally, we consider how to promote improved quality, availability, and acceptance of low vision care to lessen the impact of visual impairment on individuals, and its burden on society. PMID:24335074

  5. Automatic Calibration and Reconstruction for Active Vision Systems

    CERN Document Server

    Zhang, Beiwei

    2012-01-01

    In this book, the design of two new planar patterns for camera calibration of intrinsic parameters is addressed and a line-based method for distortion correction is suggested. The dynamic calibration of structured light systems, which consist of a camera and a projector is also treated. Also, the 3D Euclidean reconstruction by using the image-to-world transformation is investigated. Lastly, linear calibration algorithms for the catadioptric camera are considered, and the homographic matrix and fundamental matrix are extensively studied. In these methods, analytic solutions are provided for the computational efficiency and redundancy in the data can be easily incorporated to improve reliability of the estimations. This volume will therefore prove valuable and practical tool for researchers and practioners working in image processing and computer vision and related subjects.

  6. Image segmentation for enhancing symbol recognition in prosthetic vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horne, Lachlan; Barnes, Nick; McCarthy, Chris; He, Xuming

    2012-01-01

    Current and near-term implantable prosthetic vision systems offer the potential to restore some visual function, but suffer from poor resolution and dynamic range of induced phosphenes. This can make it difficult for users of prosthetic vision systems to identify symbolic information (such as signs) except in controlled conditions. Using image segmentation techniques from computer vision, we show it is possible to improve the clarity of such symbolic information for users of prosthetic vision implants in uncontrolled conditions. We use image segmentation to automatically divide a natural image into regions, and using a fixation point controlled by the user, select a region to phosphenize. This technique improves the apparent contrast and clarity of symbolic information over traditional phosphenization approaches.

  7. Estimation of 3D reconstruction errors in a stereo-vision system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belhaoua, A.; Kohler, S.; Hirsch, E.

    2009-06-01

    The paper presents an approach for error estimation for the various steps of an automated 3D vision-based reconstruction procedure of manufactured workpieces. The process is based on a priori planning of the task and built around a cognitive intelligent sensory system using so-called Situation Graph Trees (SGT) as a planning tool. Such an automated quality control system requires the coordination of a set of complex processes performing sequentially data acquisition, its quantitative evaluation and the comparison with a reference model (e.g., CAD object model) in order to evaluate quantitatively the object. To ensure efficient quality control, the aim is to be able to state if reconstruction results fulfill tolerance rules or not. Thus, the goal is to evaluate independently the error for each step of the stereo-vision based 3D reconstruction (e.g., for calibration, contour segmentation, matching and reconstruction) and then to estimate the error for the whole system. In this contribution, we analyze particularly the segmentation error due to localization errors for extracted edge points supposed to belong to lines and curves composing the outline of the workpiece under evaluation. The fitting parameters describing these geometric features are used as quality measure to determine confidence intervals and finally to estimate the segmentation errors. These errors are then propagated through the whole reconstruction procedure, enabling to evaluate their effect on the final 3D reconstruction result, specifically on position uncertainties. Lastly, analysis of these error estimates enables to evaluate the quality of the 3D reconstruction, as illustrated by the shown experimental results.

  8. Computational vision

    CERN Document Server

    Wechsler, Harry

    1990-01-01

    The book is suitable for advanced courses in computer vision and image processing. In addition to providing an overall view of computational vision, it contains extensive material on topics that are not usually covered in computer vision texts (including parallel distributed processing and neural networks) and considers many real applications.

  9. Making a vision document tangible using "vision-tactics-metrics" tables.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drury, Ivo; Slomski, Carol

    2006-01-01

    We describe a method of making a vision document tangible by attaching specific tactics and metrics to the key elements of the vision. We report on the development and early use of a "vision-tactics-metrics" table in a department of surgery. Use of the table centered the vision in the daily life of the department and its faculty, and facilitated cultural change.

  10. Front-end vision and multi-scale image analysis multi-scale computer vision theory and applications, written in Mathematica

    CERN Document Server

    Romeny, Bart M Haar

    2008-01-01

    Front-End Vision and Multi-Scale Image Analysis is a tutorial in multi-scale methods for computer vision and image processing. It builds on the cross fertilization between human visual perception and multi-scale computer vision (`scale-space') theory and applications. The multi-scale strategies recognized in the first stages of the human visual system are carefully examined, and taken as inspiration for the many geometric methods discussed. All chapters are written in Mathematica, a spectacular high-level language for symbolic and numerical manipulations. The book presents a new and effective

  11. Three-dimensional vision enhances task performance independently of the surgical method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, O J; Hagen, M; Kurmann, A; Horgan, S; Candinas, D; Vorburger, S A

    2012-10-01

    Within the next few years, the medical industry will launch increasingly affordable three-dimensional (3D) vision systems for the operating room (OR). This study aimed to evaluate the effect of two-dimensional (2D) and 3D visualization on surgical skills and task performance. In this study, 34 individuals with varying laparoscopic experience (18 inexperienced individuals) performed three tasks to test spatial relationships, grasping and positioning, dexterity, precision, and hand-eye and hand-hand coordination. Each task was performed in 3D using binocular vision for open performance, the Viking 3Di Vision System for laparoscopic performance, and the DaVinci robotic system. The same tasks were repeated in 2D using an eye patch for monocular vision, conventional laparoscopy, and the DaVinci robotic system. Loss of 3D vision significantly increased the perceived difficulty of a task and the time required to perform it, independently of the approach (P robot than with laparoscopy (P = 0.005). In every case, 3D robotic performance was superior to conventional laparoscopy (2D) (P < 0.001-0.015). The more complex the task, the more 3D vision accelerates task completion compared with 2D vision. The gain in task performance is independent of the surgical method.

  12. Synthetic biology era: Improving antibiotic's world.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guzmán-Trampe, Silvia; Ceapa, Corina D; Manzo-Ruiz, Monserrat; Sánchez, Sergio

    2017-06-15

    The emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogen microorganisms is problematic in the context of the current spectrum of available medication. The poor specificity and the high toxicity of some available molecules have made imperative the search for new strategies to improve the specificity and to pursue the discovery of novel compounds with increased bioactivity. Using living cells as platforms, synthetic biology has counteracted this problem by offering novel pathways to create synthetic systems with improved and desired functions. Among many other biotechnological approaches, the advances in synthetic biology have made it possible to design and construct novel biological systems in order to look for new drugs with increased bioactivity. Advancements have also been made in the redesigning of RNA and DNA molecules in order to engineer antibiotic clusters for antibiotic overexpression. As for the production of these antibacterial compounds, yeasts and filamentous fungi as well as gene therapy are utilized to enhance protein solubility. Specific delivery is achieved by creating chimeras using plant genes into bacterial hosts. Some of these synthetic systems are currently in clinical trials, proving the proficiency of synthetic biology in terms of both pharmacological activities as well as an increase in the biosafety of treatments. It is possible that we may just be seeing the tip of the iceberg, and synthetic biology applications will overpass expectations beyond our present knowledge. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  13. Smartphones as image processing systems for prosthetic vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zapf, Marc P; Matteucci, Paul B; Lovell, Nigel H; Suaning, Gregg J

    2013-01-01

    The feasibility of implants for prosthetic vision has been demonstrated by research and commercial organizations. In most devices, an essential forerunner to the internal stimulation circuit is an external electronics solution for capturing, processing and relaying image information as well as extracting useful features from the scene surrounding the patient. The capabilities and multitude of image processing algorithms that can be performed by the device in real-time plays a major part in the final quality of the prosthetic vision. It is therefore optimal to use powerful hardware yet to avoid bulky, straining solutions. Recent publications have reported of portable single-board computers fast enough for computationally intensive image processing. Following the rapid evolution of commercial, ultra-portable ARM (Advanced RISC machine) mobile devices, the authors investigated the feasibility of modern smartphones running complex face detection as external processing devices for vision implants. The role of dedicated graphics processors in speeding up computation was evaluated while performing a demanding noise reduction algorithm (image denoising). The time required for face detection was found to decrease by 95% from 2.5 year old to recent devices. In denoising, graphics acceleration played a major role, speeding up denoising by a factor of 18. These results demonstrate that the technology has matured sufficiently to be considered as a valid external electronics platform for visual prosthetic research.

  14. Multi-focal Vision and Gaze Control Improve Navigation Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kolja Kuehnlenz

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Multi-focal vision systems comprise cameras with various fields of view and measurement accuracies. This article presents a multi-focal approach to localization and mapping of mobile robots with active vision. An implementation of the novel concept is done considering a humanoid robot navigation scenario where the robot is visually guided through a structured environment with several landmarks. Various embodiments of multi-focal vision systems are investigated and the impact on navigation performance is evaluated in comparison to a conventional mono-focal stereo set-up. The comparative studies clearly show the benefits of multi-focal vision for mobile robot navigation: flexibility to assign the different available sensors optimally in each situation, enhancement of the visible field, higher localization accuracy, and, thus, better task performance, i.e. path following behavior of the mobile robot. It is shown that multi-focal vision may strongly improve navigation performance.

  15. Synthetic Biology and Personalized Medicine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, K.K.

    2013-01-01

    Synthetic biology, application of synthetic chemistry to biology, is a broad term that covers the engineering of biological systems with structures and functions not found in nature to process information, manipulate chemicals, produce energy, maintain cell environment and enhance human health. Synthetic biology devices contribute not only to improve our understanding of disease mechanisms, but also provide novel diagnostic tools. Methods based on synthetic biology enable the design of novel strategies for the treatment of cancer, immune diseases metabolic disorders and infectious diseases as well as the production of cheap drugs. The potential of synthetic genome, using an expanded genetic code that is designed for specific drug synthesis as well as delivery and activation of the drug in vivo by a pathological signal, was already pointed out during a lecture delivered at Kuwait University in 2005. Of two approaches to synthetic biology, top-down and bottom-up, the latter is more relevant to the development of personalized medicines as it provides more flexibility in constructing a partially synthetic cell from basic building blocks for a desired task. PMID:22907209

  16. A digital retina-like low-level vision processor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mertoguno, S; Bourbakis, N G

    2003-01-01

    This correspondence presents the basic design and the simulation of a low level multilayer vision processor that emulates to some degree the functional behavior of a human retina. This retina-like multilayer processor is the lower part of an autonomous self-organized vision system, called Kydon, that could be used on visually impaired people with a damaged visual cerebral cortex. The Kydon vision system, however, is not presented in this paper. The retina-like processor consists of four major layers, where each of them is an array processor based on hexagonal, autonomous processing elements that perform a certain set of low level vision tasks, such as smoothing and light adaptation, edge detection, segmentation, line recognition and region-graph generation. At each layer, the array processor is a 2D array of k/spl times/m hexagonal identical autonomous cells that simultaneously execute certain low level vision tasks. Thus, the hardware design and the simulation at the transistor level of the processing elements (PEs) of the retina-like processor and its simulated functionality with illustrative examples are provided in this paper.

  17. Is synthetic biology mechanical biology?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holm, Sune

    2015-12-01

    A widespread and influential characterization of synthetic biology emphasizes that synthetic biology is the application of engineering principles to living systems. Furthermore, there is a strong tendency to express the engineering approach to organisms in terms of what seems to be an ontological claim: organisms are machines. In the paper I investigate the ontological and heuristic significance of the machine analogy in synthetic biology. I argue that the use of the machine analogy and the aim of producing rationally designed organisms does not necessarily imply a commitment to mechanical biology. The ideal of applying engineering principles to biology is best understood as expressing recognition of the machine-unlikeness of natural organisms and the limits of human cognition. The paper suggests an interpretation of the identification of organisms with machines in synthetic biology according to which it expresses a strategy for representing, understanding, and constructing living systems that are more machine-like than natural organisms.

  18. Conditions and capacity for implementing Poland’s vision zero

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jamroz Kazimierz

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Since 1991 Poland has been systematically reducing its traffic hazard. Despite considerable progress Poland is still among the most dangerous countries in the European Union. The key types of actions that help to reduce fatalities include enhancement of pedestrian safety, reducing the number of speeding drivers and eliminating or reducing hazard on the road. The paper presents a brief diagnosis of the state of road safety in Poland and a synthetic evaluation of the implementation of further national road safety programmes. It proposes measures necessary for achieving Vision Zero until 2050 (adopted by the EU and an assessment of their effectiveness.

  19. Safety Computer Vision Rules for Improved Sensor Certification

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mogensen, Johann Thor Ingibergsson; Kraft, Dirk; Schultz, Ulrik Pagh

    2017-01-01

    Mobile robots are used across many domains from personal care to agriculture. Working in dynamic open-ended environments puts high constraints on the robot perception system, which is critical for the safety of the system as a whole. To achieve the required safety levels the perception system needs...... to be certified, but no specific standards exist for computer vision systems, and the concept of safe vision systems remains largely unexplored. In this paper we present a novel domain-specific language that allows the programmer to express image quality detection rules for enforcing safety constraints...

  20. Effect of absence of vision on posture

    OpenAIRE

    Alotaibi, Abdullah Z.; Alghadir, Ahmad; Iqbal, Zaheen A.; Anwer, Shahnawaz

    2016-01-01

    [Purpose] The visual system is one of the sensory systems that enables the body to assess and process information about the external environment. In the absence of vision, a blind person loses contact with the outside world and develops faulty motor patterns, which results in postural deficiencies. However, literature regarding the development of such deficiencies is limited. The aim of this study was to discuss the effect of absence of vision on posture, the possible biomechanics behind the ...

  1. Sensor fusion to enable next generation low cost Night Vision systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schweiger, R.; Franz, S.; Löhlein, O.; Ritter, W.; Källhammer, J.-E.; Franks, J.; Krekels, T.

    2010-04-01

    The next generation of automotive Night Vision Enhancement systems offers automatic pedestrian recognition with a performance beyond current Night Vision systems at a lower cost. This will allow high market penetration, covering the luxury as well as compact car segments. Improved performance can be achieved by fusing a Far Infrared (FIR) sensor with a Near Infrared (NIR) sensor. However, fusing with today's FIR systems will be too costly to get a high market penetration. The main cost drivers of the FIR system are its resolution and its sensitivity. Sensor cost is largely determined by sensor die size. Fewer and smaller pixels will reduce die size but also resolution and sensitivity. Sensitivity limits are mainly determined by inclement weather performance. Sensitivity requirements should be matched to the possibilities of low cost FIR optics, especially implications of molding of highly complex optical surfaces. As a FIR sensor specified for fusion can have lower resolution as well as lower sensitivity, fusing FIR and NIR can solve performance and cost problems. To allow compensation of FIR-sensor degradation on the pedestrian detection capabilities, a fusion approach called MultiSensorBoosting is presented that produces a classifier holding highly discriminative sub-pixel features from both sensors at once. The algorithm is applied on data with different resolution and on data obtained from cameras with varying optics to incorporate various sensor sensitivities. As it is not feasible to record representative data with all different sensor configurations, transformation routines on existing high resolution data recorded with high sensitivity cameras are investigated in order to determine the effects of lower resolution and lower sensitivity to the overall detection performance. This paper also gives an overview of the first results showing that a reduction of FIR sensor resolution can be compensated using fusion techniques and a reduction of sensitivity can be

  2. Synthetic wind speed scenarios generation for probabilistic analysis of hybrid energy systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Jun; Rabiti, Cristian

    2017-01-01

    Hybrid energy systems consisting of multiple energy inputs and multiple energy outputs have been proposed to be an effective element to enable ever increasing penetration of clean energy. In order to better understand the dynamic and probabilistic behavior of hybrid energy systems, this paper proposes a model combining Fourier series and autoregressive moving average (ARMA) to characterize historical weather measurements and to generate synthetic weather (e.g., wind speed) data. In particular, Fourier series is used to characterize the seasonal trend in historical data, while ARMA is applied to capture the autocorrelation in residue time series (e.g., measurements with seasonal trends subtracted). The generated synthetic wind speed data is then utilized to perform probabilistic analysis of a particular hybrid energy system configuration, which consists of nuclear power plant, wind farm, battery storage, natural gas boiler, and chemical plant. Requirements on component ramping rate, economic and environmental impacts of hybrid energy systems, and the effects of deploying different sizes of batteries in smoothing renewable variability, are all investigated. - Highlights: • Computational model to synthesize artificial wind speed data with consistent characteristics with database. • Fourier series to capture seasonal trends in the database. • Monte Carlo simulation and probabilistic analysis of hybrid energy systems. • Investigation of the effect of battery in smoothing variability of wind power generation.

  3. Near vision spectacle coverage and barriers to near vision ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    easily help to address this visual disability.7 An average cost of near vision spectacle in Ghana is approximately. $ 5.8 Near-vision spectacle could be dispensed as single vision, bifocal or progressive eye glasses to meet near vi- sion needs.2. Recent evidence suggests that the ageing population in. Ghana is increasing ...

  4. Automatic micropropagation of plants--the vision-system: graph rewriting as pattern recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwanke, Joerg; Megnet, Roland; Jensch, Peter F.

    1993-03-01

    The automation of plant-micropropagation is necessary to produce high amounts of biomass. Plants have to be dissected on particular cutting-points. A vision-system is needed for the recognition of the cutting-points on the plants. With this background, this contribution is directed to the underlying formalism to determine cutting-points on abstract-plant models. We show the usefulness of pattern recognition by graph-rewriting along with some examples in this context.

  5. Development of a Stereo Vision Measurement System for a 3D Three-Axial Pneumatic Parallel Mechanism Robot Arm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chien-Lun Hou

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a stereo vision 3D position measurement system for a three-axial pneumatic parallel mechanism robot arm is presented. The stereo vision 3D position measurement system aims to measure the 3D trajectories of the end-effector of the robot arm. To track the end-effector of the robot arm, the circle detection algorithm is used to detect the desired target and the SAD algorithm is used to track the moving target and to search the corresponding target location along the conjugate epipolar line in the stereo pair. After camera calibration, both intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of the stereo rig can be obtained, so images can be rectified according to the camera parameters. Thus, through the epipolar rectification, the stereo matching process is reduced to a horizontal search along the conjugate epipolar line. Finally, 3D trajectories of the end-effector are computed by stereo triangulation. The experimental results show that the stereo vision 3D position measurement system proposed in this paper can successfully track and measure the fifth-order polynomial trajectory and sinusoidal trajectory of the end-effector of the three- axial pneumatic parallel mechanism robot arm.

  6. Vision system for precision alignment of coolant channels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kar, S.; Rao, Y.V.; Valli Kumar; Joshi, D.G.; Chadda, V.K.; Nigam, R.K.; Kayal, J.N.; Panwar, S.; Sinha, R.K.

    1997-01-01

    This paper describes a vision system which has been developed for precision alignment of Coolant Channel Replacement Machine (CCRM) with respect to the front face of the coolant channel under repair/replacement. It has provisions for automatic as well as semi-automatic alignment. A special lighting scheme has been developed for providing illumination to the front face of the channel opening. This facilitates automatic segmentation of the digitized image. The segmented image is analysed to obtain the centre of the front face of the channel opening and thus the extent of misalignment i.e. offset of the camera with respect to the front face of the channel opening. The offset information is then communicated to the PLC to generate an output signal to drive the DC servo motors for precise positioning of the co-ordinate table. 2 refs., 5 figs

  7. A cost-effective intelligent robotic system with dual-arm dexterous coordination and real-time vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marzwell, Neville I.; Chen, Alexander Y. K.

    1991-01-01

    Dexterous coordination of manipulators based on the use of redundant degrees of freedom, multiple sensors, and built-in robot intelligence represents a critical breakthrough in development of advanced manufacturing technology. A cost-effective approach for achieving this new generation of robotics has been made possible by the unprecedented growth of the latest microcomputer and network systems. The resulting flexible automation offers the opportunity to improve the product quality, increase the reliability of the manufacturing process, and augment the production procedures for optimizing the utilization of the robotic system. Moreover, the Advanced Robotic System (ARS) is modular in design and can be upgraded by closely following technological advancements as they occur in various fields. This approach to manufacturing automation enhances the financial justification and ensures the long-term profitability and most efficient implementation of robotic technology. The new system also addresses a broad spectrum of manufacturing demand and has the potential to address both complex jobs as well as highly labor-intensive tasks. The ARS prototype employs the decomposed optimization technique in spatial planning. This technique is implemented to the framework of the sensor-actuator network to establish the general-purpose geometric reasoning system. The development computer system is a multiple microcomputer network system, which provides the architecture for executing the modular network computing algorithms. The knowledge-based approach used in both the robot vision subsystem and the manipulation control subsystems results in the real-time image processing vision-based capability. The vision-based task environment analysis capability and the responsive motion capability are under the command of the local intelligence centers. An array of ultrasonic, proximity, and optoelectronic sensors is used for path planning. The ARS currently has 18 degrees of freedom made up by two

  8. Applications of cell-free protein synthesis in synthetic biology: Interfacing bio-machinery with synthetic environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Kyung-Ho; Kim, Dong-Myung

    2013-11-01

    Synthetic biology is built on the synthesis, engineering, and assembly of biological parts. Proteins are the first components considered for the construction of systems with designed biological functions because proteins carry out most of the biological functions and chemical reactions inside cells. Protein synthesis is considered to comprise the most basic levels of the hierarchical structure of synthetic biology. Cell-free protein synthesis has emerged as a powerful technology that can potentially transform the concept of bioprocesses. With the ability to harness the synthetic power of biology without many of the constraints of cell-based systems, cell-free protein synthesis enables the rapid creation of protein molecules from diverse sources of genetic information. Cell-free protein synthesis is virtually free from the intrinsic constraints of cell-based methods and offers greater flexibility in system design and manipulability of biological synthetic machinery. Among its potential applications, cell-free protein synthesis can be combined with various man-made devices for rapid functional analysis of genomic sequences. This review covers recent efforts to integrate cell-free protein synthesis with various reaction devices and analytical platforms. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  9. KiWi Vision

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schaffert, Sebastian; Bry, Francois; Dolog, Peter

    This deliverable describes the common vision of the KiWi project, ranging from motivation over use cases and usage scenarios to user interaction, system architecture and technologies, and the research that is performed as part of the project. The deliverable is intended for a wide audience to give...

  10. Imaging with Synthetic Aperture Radar

    CERN Document Server

    Massonnet, Didier

    2008-01-01

    Describing a field that has been transformed by the recent availability of data from a new generation of space and airborne systems, the authors offer a synthetic geometrical approach to the description of synthetic aperture radar, one that addresses physicists, radar specialists, as well as experts in image processing.  

  11. Cosmic non-TEM radiation and synthetic feed array sensor system in ASIC mixed signal technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Centureli, F.; Scotti, G.; Tommasino, P.; Trifiletti, A.; Romano, F.; Cimmino, R.; Saitto, A.

    2014-08-01

    The paper deals with the opportunity to introduce "Not strictly TEM waves" Synthetic detection Method (NTSM), consisting in a Three Axis Digital Beam Processing (3ADBP), to enhance the performances of radio telescope and sensor systems. Current Radio Telescopes generally use the classic 3D "TEM waves" approximation Detection Method, which consists in a linear tomography process (Single or Dual axis beam forming processing) neglecting the small z component. The Synthetic FEED ARRAY three axis Sensor SYSTEM is an innovative technique using a synthetic detection of the generic "NOT strictly TEM Waves radiation coming from the Cosmo, which processes longitudinal component of Angular Momentum too. Than the simultaneous extraction from radiation of both the linear and quadratic information component, may reduce the complexity to reconstruct the Early Universe in the different requested scales. This next order approximation detection of the observed cosmologic processes, may improve the efficacy of the statistical numerical model used to elaborate the same information acquired. The present work focuses on detection of such waves at carrier frequencies in the bands ranging from LF to MMW. The work shows in further detail the new generation of on line programmable and reconfigurable Mixed Signal ASIC technology that made possible the innovative Synthetic Sensor. Furthermore the paper shows the ability of such technique to increase the Radio Telescope Array Antenna performances.

  12. An intelligent control strategy based on ANFIS techniques in order to improve the performance of a low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle vision system

    OpenAIRE

    Marichal, G. N.; Hernández, A.; Olivares Méndez, Miguel Ángel; Acosta, L.; Campoy Cervera, Pascual

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, an intelligent control approach based on Neuro-Fuzzy systems is presented. A model of a low-cost vision platform for an unmanned aerial system is taken in the study. A simulation platform including this low-cost vision system and the influence of the helicopter vibrations over this system is shown. The intelligent control approach has been inserted in this simulation platform. Several trials taking these Neuro-Fuzzy systems as a fundamental part of the control strategy have bee...

  13. Optoelectronic vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Chunye; Parel, Jean-Marie A.

    1993-06-01

    Scientists have searched every discipline to find effective methods of treating blindness, such as using aids based on conversion of the optical image, to auditory or tactile stimuli. However, the limited performance of such equipment and difficulties in training patients have seriously hampered practical applications. A great edification has been given by the discovery of Foerster (1929) and Krause & Schum (1931), who found that the electrical stimulation of the visual cortex evokes the perception of a small spot of light called `phosphene' in both blind and sighted subjects. According to this principle, it is possible to invite artificial vision by using stimulation with electrodes placed on the vision neural system, thereby developing a prosthesis for the blind that might be of value in reading and mobility. In fact, a number of investigators have already exploited this phenomena to produce a functional visual prosthesis, bringing about great advances in this area.

  14. An Integrated Vision-Based System for Spacecraft Attitude and Topology Determination for Formation Flight Missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogers, Aaron; Anderson, Kalle; Mracek, Anna; Zenick, Ray

    2004-01-01

    With the space industry's increasing focus upon multi-spacecraft formation flight missions, the ability to precisely determine system topology and the orientation of member spacecraft relative to both inertial space and each other is becoming a critical design requirement. Topology determination in satellite systems has traditionally made use of GPS or ground uplink position data for low Earth orbits, or, alternatively, inter-satellite ranging between all formation pairs. While these techniques work, they are not ideal for extension to interplanetary missions or to large fleets of decentralized, mixed-function spacecraft. The Vision-Based Attitude and Formation Determination System (VBAFDS) represents a novel solution to both the navigation and topology determination problems with an integrated approach that combines a miniature star tracker with a suite of robust processing algorithms. By combining a single range measurement with vision data to resolve complete system topology, the VBAFDS design represents a simple, resource-efficient solution that is not constrained to certain Earth orbits or formation geometries. In this paper, analysis and design of the VBAFDS integrated guidance, navigation and control (GN&C) technology will be discussed, including hardware requirements, algorithm development, and simulation results in the context of potential mission applications.

  15. A computer vision system for rapid search inspired by surface-based attention mechanisms from human perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohr, Johannes; Park, Jong-Han; Obermayer, Klaus

    2014-12-01

    Humans are highly efficient at visual search tasks by focusing selective attention on a small but relevant region of a visual scene. Recent results from biological vision suggest that surfaces of distinct physical objects form the basic units of this attentional process. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how such surface-based attention mechanisms can speed up a computer vision system for visual search. The system uses fast perceptual grouping of depth cues to represent the visual world at the level of surfaces. This representation is stored in short-term memory and updated over time. A top-down guided attention mechanism sequentially selects one of the surfaces for detailed inspection by a recognition module. We show that the proposed attention framework requires little computational overhead (about 11 ms), but enables the system to operate in real-time and leads to a substantial increase in search efficiency. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Synthetic LDL as targeted drug delivery vehicle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forte, Trudy M [Berkeley, CA; Nikanjam, Mina [Richmond, CA

    2012-08-28

    The present invention provides a synthetic LDL nanoparticle comprising a lipid moiety and a synthetic chimeric peptide so as to be capable of binding the LDL receptor. The synthetic LDL nanoparticle of the present invention is capable of incorporating and targeting therapeutics to cells expressing the LDL receptor for diseases associated with the expression of the LDL receptor such as central nervous system diseases. The invention further provides methods of using such synthetic LDL nanoparticles.

  17. Robot Vision to Monitor Structures in Invisible Fog Environments Using Active Imaging Technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Seungkyu; Park, Nakkyu; Baik, Sunghoon; Choi, Youngsoo; Jeong, Kyungmin [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-05-15

    Active vision is a direct visualization technique using a highly sensitive image sensor and a high intensity illuminant. Range-gated imaging (RGI) technique providing 2D and 3D images is one of emerging active vision technologies. The RGI technique extracts vision information by summing time sliced vision images. In the RGI system, objects are illuminated for ultra-short time by a high intensity illuminant and then the light reflected from objects is captured by a highly sensitive image sensor with the exposure of ultra-short time. The RGI system provides 2D and 3D image data from several images and it moreover provides clear images from invisible fog and smoke environment by using summing of time-sliced images. Nowadays, the Range-gated (RG) imaging is an emerging technology in the field of surveillance for security applications, especially in the visualization of invisible night and fog environment. Although RGI viewing was discovered in the 1960's, this technology is, nowadays, more and more applicable by virtue of the rapid development of optical and sensor technologies, such as highly sensitive imaging sensor and ultra-short pulse laser light. In contrast to passive vision systems, this technology enables operation even in harsh environments like fog and smoke. During the past decades, several applications of this technology have been applied in target recognition and in harsh environments, such as fog, underwater vision. Also, this technology has been demonstrated 3D imaging based on range-gated imaging. In this paper, a robot system to monitor structures in invisible fog environment is developed using an active range-gated imaging technique. The system consists of an ultra-short pulse laser device and a highly sensitive imaging sensor. The developed vision system is carried out to monitor objects in invisible fog environment. The experimental result of this newly approach vision system is described in this paper. To see invisible objects in fog

  18. Robot Vision to Monitor Structures in Invisible Fog Environments Using Active Imaging Technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Seungkyu; Park, Nakkyu; Baik, Sunghoon; Choi, Youngsoo; Jeong, Kyungmin

    2014-01-01

    Active vision is a direct visualization technique using a highly sensitive image sensor and a high intensity illuminant. Range-gated imaging (RGI) technique providing 2D and 3D images is one of emerging active vision technologies. The RGI technique extracts vision information by summing time sliced vision images. In the RGI system, objects are illuminated for ultra-short time by a high intensity illuminant and then the light reflected from objects is captured by a highly sensitive image sensor with the exposure of ultra-short time. The RGI system provides 2D and 3D image data from several images and it moreover provides clear images from invisible fog and smoke environment by using summing of time-sliced images. Nowadays, the Range-gated (RG) imaging is an emerging technology in the field of surveillance for security applications, especially in the visualization of invisible night and fog environment. Although RGI viewing was discovered in the 1960's, this technology is, nowadays, more and more applicable by virtue of the rapid development of optical and sensor technologies, such as highly sensitive imaging sensor and ultra-short pulse laser light. In contrast to passive vision systems, this technology enables operation even in harsh environments like fog and smoke. During the past decades, several applications of this technology have been applied in target recognition and in harsh environments, such as fog, underwater vision. Also, this technology has been demonstrated 3D imaging based on range-gated imaging. In this paper, a robot system to monitor structures in invisible fog environment is developed using an active range-gated imaging technique. The system consists of an ultra-short pulse laser device and a highly sensitive imaging sensor. The developed vision system is carried out to monitor objects in invisible fog environment. The experimental result of this newly approach vision system is described in this paper. To see invisible objects in fog

  19. Living with vision loss

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diabetes - vision loss; Retinopathy - vision loss; Low vision; Blindness - vision loss ... of visual aids. Some options include: Magnifiers High power reading glasses Devices that make it easier to ...

  20. Compact, self-contained enhanced-vision system (EVS) sensor simulator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiana, Carlo

    2007-04-01

    We describe the model SIM-100 PC-based simulator, for imaging sensors used, or planned for use, in Enhanced Vision System (EVS) applications. Typically housed in a small-form-factor PC, it can be easily integrated into existing out-the-window visual simulators for fixed-wing or rotorcraft, to add realistic sensor imagery to the simulator cockpit. Multiple bands of infrared (short-wave, midwave, extended-midwave and longwave) as well as active millimeter-wave RADAR systems can all be simulated in real time. Various aspects of physical and electronic image formation and processing in the sensor are accurately (and optionally) simulated, including sensor random and fixed pattern noise, dead pixels, blooming, B-C scope transformation (MMWR). The effects of various obscurants (fog, rain, etc.) on the sensor imagery are faithfully represented and can be selected by an operator remotely and in real-time. The images generated by the system are ideally suited for many applications, ranging from sensor development engineering tradeoffs (Field Of View, resolution, etc.), to pilot familiarization and operational training, and certification support. The realistic appearance of the simulated images goes well beyond that of currently deployed systems, and beyond that required by certification authorities; this level of realism will become necessary as operational experience with EVS systems grows.

  1. Content metamorphosis in synthetic holography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Desbiens, Jacques

    2013-01-01

    A synthetic hologram is an optical system made of hundreds of images amalgamated in a structure of holographic cells. Each of these images represents a point of view on a three-dimensional space which makes us consider synthetic holography as a multiple points of view perspective system. In the composition of a computer graphics scene for a synthetic hologram, the field of view of the holographic image can be divided into several viewing zones. We can attribute these divisions to any object or image feature independently and operate different transformations on image content. In computer generated holography, we tend to consider content variations as a continuous animation much like a short movie. However, by composing sequential variations of image features in relation with spatial divisions, we can build new narrative forms distinct from linear cinematographic narration. When observers move freely and change their viewing positions, they travel from one field of view division to another. In synthetic holography, metamorphoses of image content are within the observer's path. In all imaging Medias, the transformation of image features in synchronisation with the observer's position is a rare occurrence. However, this is a predominant characteristic of synthetic holography. This paper describes some of my experimental works in the development of metamorphic holographic images.

  2. A child's vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nye, Christina

    2014-06-01

    Implementing standard vision screening techniques in the primary care practice is the most effective means to detect children with potential vision problems at an age when the vision loss may be treatable. A critical period of vision development occurs in the first few weeks of life; thus, it is imperative that serious problems are detected at this time. Although it is not possible to quantitate an infant's vision, evaluating ocular health appropriately can mean the difference between sight and blindness and, in the case of retinoblastoma, life or death. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. The EnVision++ system: a new immunohistochemical method for diagnostics and research. Critical comparison with the APAAP, ChemMate, CSA, LABC, and SABC techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabattini, E; Bisgaard, K; Ascani, S; Poggi, S; Piccioli, M; Ceccarelli, C; Pieri, F; Fraternali-Orcioni, G; Pileri, S A

    1998-07-01

    To assess a newly developed immunohistochemical detection system, the EnVision++. A large series of differently processed normal and pathological samples and 53 relevant monoclonal antibodies were chosen. A chessboard titration assay was used to compare the results provided by the EnVision++ system with those of the APAAP, CSA, LSAB, SABC, and ChemMate methods, when applied either manually or in a TechMate 500 immunostainer. With the vast majority of the antibodies, EnVision++ allowed two- to fivefold higher dilutions than the APAAP, LSAB, SABC, and ChemMate techniques, the staining intensity and percentage of expected positive cells being the same. With some critical antibodies (such as the anti-CD5), it turned out to be superior in that it achieved consistently reproducible results with differently fixed or overfixed samples. Only the CSA method, which includes tyramide based enhancement, allowed the same dilutions as the EnVision++ system, and in one instance (with the anti-cyclin D1 antibody) represented the gold standard. The EnVision++ is an easy to use system, which avoids the possibility of disturbing endogenous biotin and lowers the cost per test by increasing the dilutions of the primary antibodies. Being a two step procedure, it reduces both the assay time and the workload.

  4. Deep hierarchies in the primate visual cortex: what can we learn for computer vision?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krüger, Norbert; Janssen, Peter; Kalkan, Sinan; Lappe, Markus; Leonardis, Ales; Piater, Justus; Rodríguez-Sánchez, Antonio J; Wiskott, Laurenz

    2013-08-01

    Computational modeling of the primate visual system yields insights of potential relevance to some of the challenges that computer vision is facing, such as object recognition and categorization, motion detection and activity recognition, or vision-based navigation and manipulation. This paper reviews some functional principles and structures that are generally thought to underlie the primate visual cortex, and attempts to extract biological principles that could further advance computer vision research. Organized for a computer vision audience, we present functional principles of the processing hierarchies present in the primate visual system considering recent discoveries in neurophysiology. The hierarchical processing in the primate visual system is characterized by a sequence of different levels of processing (on the order of 10) that constitute a deep hierarchy in contrast to the flat vision architectures predominantly used in today's mainstream computer vision. We hope that the functional description of the deep hierarchies realized in the primate visual system provides valuable insights for the design of computer vision algorithms, fostering increasingly productive interaction between biological and computer vision research.

  5. Utilization of the Space Vision System as an Augmented Reality System For Mission Operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maida, James C.; Bowen, Charles

    2003-01-01

    Augmented reality is a technique whereby computer generated images are superimposed on live images for visual enhancement. Augmented reality can also be characterized as dynamic overlays when computer generated images are registered with moving objects in a live image. This technique has been successfully implemented, with low to medium levels of registration precision, in an NRA funded project entitled, "Improving Human Task Performance with Luminance Images and Dynamic Overlays". Future research is already being planned to also utilize a laboratory-based system where more extensive subject testing can be performed. However successful this might be, the problem will still be whether such a technology can be used with flight hardware. To answer this question, the Canadian Space Vision System (SVS) will be tested as an augmented reality system capable of improving human performance where the operation requires indirect viewing. This system has already been certified for flight and is currently flown on each shuttle mission for station assembly. Successful development and utilization of this system in a ground-based experiment will expand its utilization for on-orbit mission operations. Current research and development regarding the use of augmented reality technology is being simulated using ground-based equipment. This is an appropriate approach for development of symbology (graphics and annotation) optimal for human performance and for development of optimal image registration techniques. It is anticipated that this technology will become more pervasive as it matures. Because we know what and where almost everything is on ISS, this reduces the registration problem and improves the computer model of that reality, making augmented reality an attractive tool, provided we know how to use it. This is the basis for current research in this area. However, there is a missing element to this process. It is the link from this research to the current ISS video system and to

  6. Effects of visual skills training, vision coaching and sports vision ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of three different approaches to improving sports performance through improvements in “sports vision:” (1) a visual skills training programme, (2) traditional vision coaching sessions, and (3) a multi-disciplinary approach identified as sports vision dynamics.

  7. Synthetic biology: Emerging bioengineering in Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suhandono, Sony

    2017-05-01

    The development of synthetic biology will shape the new era of science and technology. It is an emerging bioengineering technique involving genetic engineering which can alter the phenotype and behavior of the cell or the new product. Synthetic biology may produce biomaterials, drugs, vaccines, biosensors, and even a recombinant secondary metabolite used in herbal and complementary medicine, such as artemisinin, a malaria drug which is usually extracted from the plant Artemisia annua. The power of synthetic biology has encouraged scientists in Indonesia, and is still in early development. This paper also covers some research from an Indonesian research institute in synthetic biology such as observing the production of bio surfactants and the enhanced production of artemisinin using a transient expression system. Synthetic biology development in Indonesia may also be related to the iGEM competition, a large synthetic biology research competition which was attended by several universities in Indonesia. The application of synthetic biology for drug discovery will be discussed.

  8. PENGEMBANGAN COMPUTER VISION SYSTEM SEDERHANA UNTUK MENENTUKAN KUALITAS TOMAT Development of a simple Computer Vision System to determine tomato quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rudiati Evi Masithoh

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to develop a simple computer vision system (CVS to non-destructively measure tomato quality based on its Red Gren Blue (RGB color parameter. Tomato quality parameters measured were Brix, citric acid, vitamin C, and total sugar. This system consisted of a box to place object, a webcam to capture images, a computer to process images, illumination system, and an image analysis software which was equipped with artificial neural networks technique for determining tomato quality. Network architecture was formed with 3 layers consisting of1 input layer with 3 input neurons, 1 hidden layer with 14 neurons using logsig activation function, and 5 output layers using purelin activation function by using backpropagation training algorithm. CVS developed was able to predict the quality parameters of a Brix value, vitamin C, citric acid, and total sugar. To obtain the predicted values which were equal or close to the actual values, a calibration model was required. For Brix value, the actual value obtained from the equation y = 12,16x – 26,46, with x was Brix predicted. The actual values of vitamin C, citric acid, and total sugar were obtained from y = 1,09x - 3.13, y = 7,35x – 19,44,  and  y = 1.58x – 0,18,, with x was the value of vitamin C, citric acid, and total sugar, respectively. ABSTRAK Tujuan penelitian adalah mengembangkan computer vision system (CVS sederhana untuk menentukan kualitas tomat secara non­destruktif berdasarkan parameter warna Red Green Blue (RGB. Parameter kualitas tomat yang diukur ada­ lah Brix, asam sitrat, vitamin C, dan gula total. Sistem ini terdiri peralatan utama yaitu kotak untuk meletakkan obyek, webcam untuk menangkap citra, komputer untuk mengolah data, sistem penerangan, dan perangkat lunak analisis citra yang dilengkapi dengan jaringan syaraf tiruan untuk menentukan kualitas tomat. Arsitektur jaringan dibentuk dengan3 lapisan yang terdiri dari 1 lapisan masukan dengan 3 sel

  9. Color vision test

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... present from birth) color vision problems: Achromatopsia -- complete color blindness , seeing only shades of gray Deuteranopia -- difficulty telling ... Vision test - color; Ishihara color vision test Images Color blindness tests References Bowling B. Hereditary fundus dystrophies. In: ...

  10. Impairments to Vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... an external Non-Government web site. Impairments to Vision Normal Vision Diabetic Retinopathy Age-related Macular Degeneration In this ... pictures, fixate on the nose to simulate the vision loss. In diabetic retinopathy, the blood vessels in ...

  11. Development of yarn breakage detection software system based on machine vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Wenyuan; Zhou, Ping; Lin, Xiangyu

    2017-10-01

    For questions spinning mills and yarn breakage cannot be detected in a timely manner, and save the cost of textile enterprises. This paper presents a software system based on computer vision for real-time detection of yarn breakage. The system and Windows8.1 system Tablet PC, cloud server to complete the yarn breakage detection and management. Running on the Tablet PC software system is designed to collect yarn and location information for analysis and processing. And will be processed after the information through the Wi-Fi and http protocol sent to the cloud server to store in the Microsoft SQL2008 database. In order to follow up on the yarn break information query and management. Finally sent to the local display on time display, and remind the operator to deal with broken yarn. The experimental results show that the system of missed test rate not more than 5%o, and no error detection.

  12. Experimental ultrasound system for real-time synthetic imaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jørgen Arendt; Holm, Ole; Jensen, Lars Joost

    1999-01-01

    Digital signal processing is being employed more and more in modern ultrasound scanners. This has made it possible to do dynamic receive focusing for each sample and implement other advanced imaging methods. The processing, however, has to be very fast and cost-effective at the same time. Dedicated...... for synthetic aperture imaging, 2D and 3D B-mode and velocity imaging. The system can be used with 128 element transducers and can excite 128 channels and receive and sample data from 64 channels simultaneously at 40 MHz with 12 bits precision. Data can be processed in real time using the system's 80 signal...... chips are used in order to do real time processing. This often makes it difficult to implement radically different imaging strategies on one platform and makes the scanners less accessible for research purposes. Here flexibility is the prime concern, and the storage of data from all transducer elements...

  13. Vision Lab

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Vision Lab personnel perform research, development, testing and evaluation of eye protection and vision performance. The lab maintains and continues to develop...

  14. Stereo Vision for Unrestricted Human-Computer Interaction

    OpenAIRE

    Eldridge, Ross; Rudolph, Heiko

    2008-01-01

    Human computer interfaces have come long way in recent years, but the goal of a computer interpreting unrestricted human movement remains elusive. The use of stereo vision in this field has enabled the development of systems that begin to approach this goal. As computer technology advances we come ever closer to a system that can react to the ambiguities of human movement in real-time. In the foreseeable future stereo computer vision is not likely to replace the keyboard or mouse. There is at...

  15. Agent-based modelling in synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorochowski, Thomas E

    2016-11-30

    Biological systems exhibit complex behaviours that emerge at many different levels of organization. These span the regulation of gene expression within single cells to the use of quorum sensing to co-ordinate the action of entire bacterial colonies. Synthetic biology aims to make the engineering of biology easier, offering an opportunity to control natural systems and develop new synthetic systems with useful prescribed behaviours. However, in many cases, it is not understood how individual cells should be programmed to ensure the emergence of a required collective behaviour. Agent-based modelling aims to tackle this problem, offering a framework in which to simulate such systems and explore cellular design rules. In this article, I review the use of agent-based models in synthetic biology, outline the available computational tools, and provide details on recently engineered biological systems that are amenable to this approach. I further highlight the challenges facing this methodology and some of the potential future directions. © 2016 The Author(s).

  16. [Functional state of vision system under chronic mercury intoxication].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iablonskaia, D A; Mishchenko, T S; Lakhman, O L; Rukavishnikov, V S; Malyshev, V V

    2010-01-01

    Examination of chronic mercury intoxication patients in distant (post-contact) period revealed marked vision disorders and inhibited neuro-conductivity--inhibited neuronal structures of retina and optic nerve.

  17. Robot Vision Library

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, Andrew B.; Ansar, Adnan I.; Litwin, Todd E.; Goldberg, Steven B.

    2009-01-01

    The JPL Robot Vision Library (JPLV) provides real-time robot vision algorithms for developers who are not vision specialists. The package includes algorithms for stereo ranging, visual odometry and unsurveyed camera calibration, and has unique support for very wideangle lenses

  18. Image understanding systems based on the unifying representation of perceptual and conceptual information and the solution of mid-level and high-level vision problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuvychko, Igor

    2001-10-01

    Vision is a part of a larger information system that converts visual information into knowledge structures. These structures drive vision process, resolving ambiguity and uncertainty via feedback, and provide image understanding, that is an interpretation of visual information in terms of such knowledge models. A computer vision system based on such principles requires unifying representation of perceptual and conceptual information. Computer simulation models are built on the basis of graphs/networks. The ability of human brain to emulate similar graph/networks models is found. That means a very important shift of paradigm in our knowledge about brain from neural networks to the cortical software. Starting from the primary visual areas, brain analyzes an image as a graph-type spatial structure. Primary areas provide active fusion of image features on a spatial grid-like structure, where nodes are cortical columns. The spatial combination of different neighbor features cannot be described as a statistical/integral characteristic of the analyzed region, but uniquely characterizes such region itself. Spatial logic and topology naturally present in such structures. Mid-level vision processes like clustering, perceptual grouping, multilevel hierarchical compression, separation of figure from ground, etc. are special kinds of graph/network transformations. They convert low-level image structure into the set of more abstract ones, which represent objects and visual scene, making them easy for analysis by higher-level knowledge structures. Higher-level vision phenomena like shape from shading, occlusion, etc. are results of such analysis. Such approach gives opportunity not only to explain frequently unexplainable results of the cognitive science, but also to create intelligent computer vision systems that simulate perceptional processes in both what and where visual pathways. Such systems can open new horizons for robotic and computer vision industries.

  19. Vision-based control of the Manus using SIFT

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Liefhebber, F.; Sijs, J.

    2007-01-01

    The rehabilitation robot Manus is an assistive device for severely motor handicapped users. The executing of all day living tasks with the Manus, can be very complex and a vision-based controller can simplify this. The lack of existing vision-based controlled systems, is the poor reliability of the

  20. Gesture Recognition by Computer Vision : An Integral Approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lichtenauer, J.F.

    2009-01-01

    The fundamental objective of this Ph.D. thesis is to gain more insight into what is involved in the practical application of a computer vision system, when the conditions of use cannot be controlled completely. The basic assumption is that research on isolated aspects of computer vision often leads

  1. An Automated Mouse Tail Vascular Access System by Vision and Pressure Feedback.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Yen-Chi; Berry-Pusey, Brittany; Yasin, Rashid; Vu, Nam; Maraglia, Brandon; Chatziioannou, Arion X; Tsao, Tsu-Chin

    2015-08-01

    This paper develops an automated vascular access system (A-VAS) with novel vision-based vein and needle detection methods and real-time pressure feedback for murine drug delivery. Mouse tail vein injection is a routine but critical step for preclinical imaging applications. Due to the small vein diameter and external disturbances such as tail hair, pigmentation, and scales, identifying vein location is difficult and manual injections usually result in poor repeatability. To improve the injection accuracy, consistency, safety, and processing time, A-VAS was developed to overcome difficulties in vein detection noise rejection, robustness in needle tracking, and visual servoing integration with the mechatronics system.

  2. Advanced Drug Delivery Systems - a Synthetic and Biological Applied Evaluation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjerg, Lise Nørkjær

    function as the targeting moiety on the surface of the liposomes. Several examples of synthetic procedures known from the literature are presented. The chapter is completed with a study covering the conjugation efficiencies of a variety of chemical functionalities. Large differences are revealed between...... to guide the uptake, in addition to an enzymatically cleavable peptide sequence, whose cleavage would result in removal of the polymer layer as well as uncovering cationic charges on the liposomal surface. These systems were shown to have superior drug efficacy in vitro....

  3. 3D gaze tracking system for NVidia 3D Vision®.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wibirama, Sunu; Hamamoto, Kazuhiko

    2013-01-01

    Inappropriate parallax setting in stereoscopic content generally causes visual fatigue and visual discomfort. To optimize three dimensional (3D) effects in stereoscopic content by taking into account health issue, understanding how user gazes at 3D direction in virtual space is currently an important research topic. In this paper, we report the study of developing a novel 3D gaze tracking system for Nvidia 3D Vision(®) to be used in desktop stereoscopic display. We suggest an optimized geometric method to accurately measure the position of virtual 3D object. Our experimental result shows that the proposed system achieved better accuracy compared to conventional geometric method by average errors 0.83 cm, 0.87 cm, and 1.06 cm in X, Y, and Z dimensions, respectively.

  4. A novel vision-based mold monitoring system in an environment of intense vibration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Fen; He, Zaixing; Zhao, Xinyue; Zhang, Shuyou

    2017-01-01

    Mold monitoring has been more and more widely used in the modern manufacturing industry, especially when based on machine vision, but these systems cannot meet the detection speed and accuracy requirements for mold monitoring because they must operate in environments that exhibit intense vibration during production. To ensure that the system runs accurately and efficiently, we propose a new descriptor that combines the geometric relationship-based global context feature and the local scale-invariant feature transform for the image registration step of the mold monitoring system. The experimental results of four types of molds showed that the detection accuracy of the mold monitoring system is improved in the environment with intense vibration. (paper)

  5. A novel vision-based mold monitoring system in an environment of intense vibration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Fen; He, Zaixing; Zhao, Xinyue; Zhang, Shuyou

    2017-10-01

    Mold monitoring has been more and more widely used in the modern manufacturing industry, especially when based on machine vision, but these systems cannot meet the detection speed and accuracy requirements for mold monitoring because they must operate in environments that exhibit intense vibration during production. To ensure that the system runs accurately and efficiently, we propose a new descriptor that combines the geometric relationship-based global context feature and the local scale-invariant feature transform for the image registration step of the mold monitoring system. The experimental results of four types of molds showed that the detection accuracy of the mold monitoring system is improved in the environment with intense vibration.

  6. Multi-antenna synthetic aperture radar

    CERN Document Server

    Wang, Wen-Qin

    2013-01-01

    Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a well-known remote sensing technique, but conventional single-antenna SAR is inherently limited by the minimum antenna area constraint. Although there are still technical issues to overcome, multi-antenna SAR offers many benefits, from improved system gain to increased degrees-of-freedom and system flexibility. Multi-Antenna Synthetic Aperture Radar explores the potential and challenges of using multi-antenna SAR in microwave remote sensing applications. These applications include high-resolution imaging, wide-swath remote sensing, ground moving target indica

  7. Low computation vision-based navigation for a Martian rover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gavin, Andrew S.; Brooks, Rodney A.

    1994-01-01

    Construction and design details of the Mobot Vision System, a small, self-contained, mobile vision system, are presented. This system uses the view from the top of a small, roving, robotic vehicle to supply data that is processed in real-time to safely navigate the surface of Mars. A simple, low-computation algorithm for constructing a 3-D navigational map of the Martian environment to be used by the rover is discussed.

  8. Protyping machine vision software on the World Wide Web

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karantalis, George; Batchelor, Bruce G.

    1998-10-01

    Interactive image processing is a proven technique for analyzing industrial vision applications and building prototype systems. Several of the previous implementations have used dedicated hardware to perform the image processing, with a top layer of software providing a convenient user interface. More recently, self-contained software packages have been devised and these run on a standard computer. The advent of the Java programming language has made it possible to write platform-independent software, operating over the Internet, or a company-wide Intranet. Thus, there arises the possibility of designing at least some shop-floor inspection/control systems, without the vision engineer ever entering the factories where they will be used. It successful, this project will have a major impact on the productivity of vision systems designers.

  9. Design and Implementation of a Fully Autonomous UAV's Navigator Based on Omni-directional Vision System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Mohammadreza Kasaei

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs are the subject of an increasing interest in many applications . UAVs are seeing more widespread use in military, scenic, and civilian sectors in recent years. Autonomy is one of the major advantages of these vehicles. It is then necessary to develop particular sensor in order to provide efficient navigation functions. The helicopter has been stabilized with visual information through the control loop. Omni directional vision can be a useful sensor for this propose. It can be used as the only sensor or as complementary sensor. In this paper , we propose a novel method for path planning on an UAV based on electrical potential .We are using an omni directional vision system for navigating and path planning.

  10. A Novel Identification Methodology for the Coordinate Relationship between a 3D Vision System and a Legged Robot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chai, Xun; Gao, Feng; Pan, Yang; Qi, Chenkun; Xu, Yilin

    2015-04-22

    Coordinate identification between vision systems and robots is quite a challenging issue in the field of intelligent robotic applications, involving steps such as perceiving the immediate environment, building the terrain map and planning the locomotion automatically. It is now well established that current identification methods have non-negligible limitations such as a difficult feature matching, the requirement of external tools and the intervention of multiple people. In this paper, we propose a novel methodology to identify the geometric parameters of 3D vision systems mounted on robots without involving other people or additional equipment. In particular, our method focuses on legged robots which have complex body structures and excellent locomotion ability compared to their wheeled/tracked counterparts. The parameters can be identified only by moving robots on a relatively flat ground. Concretely, an estimation approach is provided to calculate the ground plane. In addition, the relationship between the robot and the ground is modeled. The parameters are obtained by formulating the identification problem as an optimization problem. The methodology is integrated on a legged robot called "Octopus", which can traverse through rough terrains with high stability after obtaining the identification parameters of its mounted vision system using the proposed method. Diverse experiments in different environments demonstrate our novel method is accurate and robust.

  11. Visions of Vision: An Exploratory Study of the Role College and University Presidents Play in Developing Institutional Vision

    Science.gov (United States)

    McWade, Jessica C.

    2014-01-01

    This qualitative research explores how college and university presidents engage in the process of developing formal institutional vision. The inquiry identifies roles presidents play in vision development, which is often undertaken as part of strategic-planning initiatives. Two constructs of leadership and institutional vision are used to examine…

  12. Vision System-Based Design and Assessment of a Novel Shoulder Joint Mechanism for an Enhanced Workspace Upper Limb Exoskeleton

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo Piña-Martínez

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Exoskeletons arise as the common ground between robotics and biomechanics, where rehabilitation is the main field in which these two disciplines find cohesion. One of the most relevant challenges in upper limb exoskeleton design relies in the high complexity of the human shoulder, where current devices implement elaborate systems only to emulate the drifting center of rotation of the shoulder joint. This paper proposes the use of 3D scanning vision technologies to ease the design process and its implementation on a variety of subjects, while a motion tracking system based on vision technologies is applied to assess the exoskeleton reachable workspace compared with an asymptomatic subject. Furthermore, the anatomic fitting index is proposed, which compares the anatomic workspace of the user with the exoskeleton workspace and provides insight into its features. This work proposes an exoskeleton architecture that considers the clavicle motion over the coronal plane whose workspace is determined by substituting the direct kinematics model with the dimensional parameters of the user. Simulations and numerical examples are used to validate the analytical results and to conciliate the experimental results provided by the vision tracking system.

  13. What Is Low Vision?

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Your Rights Training Resources Workplace Technology CareerConnect Stories Working as a Senior with Vision Loss For Seniors Age-Related Vision ... Changes Health and Aging Retirement Living Continuing to Work as a Senior with Vision Loss Get Connected About VisionAware Join ...

  14. Generation of synthetic Kinect depth images based on empirical noise model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iversen, Thorbjørn Mosekjær; Kraft, Dirk

    2017-01-01

    The development, training and evaluation of computer vision algorithms rely on the availability of a large number of images. The acquisition of these images can be time-consuming if they are recorded using real sensors. An alternative is to rely on synthetic images which can be rapidly generated....... This Letter describes a novel method for the simulation of Kinect v1 depth images. The method is based on an existing empirical noise model from the literature. The authors show that their relatively simple method is able to provide depth images which have a high similarity with real depth images....

  15. Property-driven functional verification technique for high-speed vision system-on-chip processor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nshunguyimfura, Victor; Yang, Jie; Liu, Liyuan; Wu, Nanjian

    2017-04-01

    The implementation of functional verification in a fast, reliable, and effective manner is a challenging task in a vision chip verification process. The main reason for this challenge is the stepwise nature of existing functional verification techniques. This vision chip verification complexity is also related to the fact that in most vision chip design cycles, extensive efforts are focused on how to optimize chip metrics such as performance, power, and area. Design functional verification is not explicitly considered at an earlier stage at which the most sound decisions are made. In this paper, we propose a semi-automatic property-driven verification technique. The implementation of all verification components is based on design properties. We introduce a low-dimension property space between the specification space and the implementation space. The aim of this technique is to speed up the verification process for high-performance parallel processing vision chips. Our experimentation results show that the proposed technique can effectively improve the verification effort up to 20% for the complex vision chip design while reducing the simulation and debugging overheads.

  16. Fulfilling the vision of automatic computing

    OpenAIRE

    Dobson, Simon; Sterritt, Roy; Nixon, Paddy; Hinchey, Mike

    2010-01-01

    Efforts since 2001 to design self-managing systems have yielded many impressive achievements, yet the original vision of autonomic computing remains unfulfilled. Researchers must develop a comprehensive systems engineering approach to create effective solutions for next-generation enterprise and sensor systems. Publisher PDF Peer reviewed

  17. Living GenoChemetics by hyphenating synthetic biology and synthetic chemistry in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Sunil V; Tong, Xiaoxue; Pubill-Ulldemolins, Cristina; Cartmell, Christopher; Bogosyan, Emma J A; Rackham, Emma J; Marelli, Enrico; Hamed, Refaat B; Goss, Rebecca J M

    2017-08-09

    Marrying synthetic biology with synthetic chemistry provides a powerful approach toward natural product diversification, combining the best of both worlds: expediency and synthetic capability of biogenic pathways and chemical diversity enabled by organic synthesis. Biosynthetic pathway engineering can be employed to insert a chemically orthogonal tag into a complex natural scaffold affording the possibility of site-selective modification without employing protecting group strategies. Here we show that, by installing a sufficiently reactive handle (e.g., a C-Br bond) and developing compatible mild aqueous chemistries, synchronous biosynthesis of the tagged metabolite and its subsequent chemical modification in living culture can be achieved. This approach can potentially enable many new applications: for example, assay of directed evolution of enzymes catalyzing halo-metabolite biosynthesis in living cells or generating and following the fate of tagged metabolites and biomolecules in living systems. We report synthetic biological access to new-to-nature bromo-metabolites and the concomitant biorthogonal cross-coupling of halo-metabolites in living cultures.Coupling synthetic biology and chemical reactions in cells is a challenging task. The authors engineer bacteria capable of generating bromo-metabolites, develop a mild Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction compatible with cell growth and carry out the cross-coupling chemistry in live cell cultures.

  18. Static and dynamic postural control in low-vision and normal-vision adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomomitsu, Mônica S V; Alonso, Angelica Castilho; Morimoto, Eurica; Bobbio, Tatiana G; Greve, Julia M D

    2013-04-01

    This study aimed to evaluate the influence of reduced visual information on postural control by comparing low-vision and normal-vision adults in static and dynamic conditions. Twenty-five low-vision subjects and twenty-five normal sighted adults were evaluated for static and dynamic balance using four protocols: 1) the Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance on firm and foam surfaces with eyes opened and closed; 2) Unilateral Stance with eyes opened and closed; 3) Tandem Walk; and 4) Step Up/Over. The results showed that the low-vision group presented greater body sway compared with the normal vision during balance on a foam surface (p≤0.001), the Unilateral Stance test for both limbs (p≤0.001), and the Tandem Walk test. The low-vision group showed greater step width (p≤0.001) and slower gait speed (p≤0.004). In the Step Up/Over task, low-vision participants were more cautious in stepping up (right p≤0.005 and left p≤0.009) and in executing the movement (p≤0.001). These findings suggest that visual feedback is crucial for determining balance, especially for dynamic tasks and on foam surfaces. Low-vision individuals had worse postural stability than normal-vision adults in terms of dynamic tests and balance on foam surfaces.

  19. Functional vision loss: a diagnosis of exclusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villegas, Rex B; Ilsen, Pauline F

    2007-10-01

    Most cases of visual acuity or visual field loss can be attributed to ocular pathology or ocular manifestations of systemic pathology. They can also occasionally be attributed to nonpathologic processes or malingering. Functional vision loss is any decrease in vision the origin of which cannot be attributed to a pathologic or structural abnormality. Two cases of functional vision loss are described. In the first, a 58-year-old man presented for a baseline eye examination for enrollment in a vision rehabilitation program. He reported bilateral blindness since a motor vehicle accident with head trauma 4 years prior. Entering visual acuity was "no light perception" in each eye. Ocular health examination was normal and the patient made frequent eye contact with the examiners. He was referred for neuroimaging and electrophysiologic testing. The second case was a 49-year-old man who presented with a long history of intermittent monocular diplopia. His medical history was significant for psycho-medical evaluations and a diagnosis of factitious disorder. Entering uncorrected visual acuities were 20/20 in each eye, but visual field testing found constriction. No abnormalities were found that could account for the monocular diplopia or visual field deficit. A diagnosis of functional vision loss secondary to factitious disorder was made. Functional vision loss is a diagnosis of exclusion. In the event of reduced vision in the context of a normal ocular health examination, all other pathology must be ruled out before making the diagnosis of functional vision loss. Evaluation must include auxiliary ophthalmologic testing, neuroimaging of the visual pathway, review of the medical history and lifestyle, and psychiatric evaluation. Comanagement with a psychiatrist is essential for patients with functional vision loss.

  20. Vision based interface system for hands free control of an intelligent wheelchair

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim Eun

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Due to the shift of the age structure in today's populations, the necessities for developing the devices or technologies to support them have been increasing. Traditionally, the wheelchair, including powered and manual ones, is the most popular and important rehabilitation/assistive device for the disabled and the elderly. However, it is still highly restricted especially for severely disabled. As a solution to this, the Intelligent Wheelchairs (IWs have received considerable attention as mobility aids. The purpose of this work is to develop the IW interface for providing more convenient and efficient interface to the people the disability in their limbs. Methods This paper proposes an intelligent wheelchair (IW control system for the people with various disabilities. To facilitate a wide variety of user abilities, the proposed system involves the use of face-inclination and mouth-shape information, where the direction of an IW is determined by the inclination of the user's face, while proceeding and stopping are determined by the shapes of the user's mouth. Our system is composed of electric powered wheelchair, data acquisition board, ultrasonic/infra-red sensors, a PC camera, and vision system. Then the vision system to analyze user's gestures is performed by three stages: detector, recognizer, and converter. In the detector, the facial region of the intended user is first obtained using Adaboost, thereafter the mouth region is detected based on edge information. The extracted features are sent to the recognizer, which recognizes the face inclination and mouth shape using statistical analysis and K-means clustering, respectively. These recognition results are then delivered to the converter to control the wheelchair. Result & conclusion The advantages of the proposed system include 1 accurate recognition of user's intention with minimal user motion and 2 robustness to a cluttered background and the time-varying illumination

  1. Computer vision camera with embedded FPGA processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lecerf, Antoine; Ouellet, Denis; Arias-Estrada, Miguel

    2000-03-01

    Traditional computer vision is based on a camera-computer system in which the image understanding algorithms are embedded in the computer. To circumvent the computational load of vision algorithms, low-level processing and imaging hardware can be integrated in a single compact module where a dedicated architecture is implemented. This paper presents a Computer Vision Camera based on an open architecture implemented in an FPGA. The system is targeted to real-time computer vision tasks where low level processing and feature extraction tasks can be implemented in the FPGA device. The camera integrates a CMOS image sensor, an FPGA device, two memory banks, and an embedded PC for communication and control tasks. The FPGA device is a medium size one equivalent to 25,000 logic gates. The device is connected to two high speed memory banks, an IS interface, and an imager interface. The camera can be accessed for architecture programming, data transfer, and control through an Ethernet link from a remote computer. A hardware architecture can be defined in a Hardware Description Language (like VHDL), simulated and synthesized into digital structures that can be programmed into the FPGA and tested on the camera. The architecture of a classical multi-scale edge detection algorithm based on a Laplacian of Gaussian convolution has been developed to show the capabilities of the system.

  2. VISION development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hernandez, J.E.; Sherwood, R.J.; Whitman, S.R.

    1994-01-01

    VISION is a flexible and extensible object-oriented programming environment for prototyping computer-vision and pattern-recognition algorithms. This year's effort focused on three major areas: documentation, graphics, and support for new applications

  3. Vision Based Autonomous Robotic Control for Advanced Inspection and Repair

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wehner, Walter S.

    2014-01-01

    The advanced inspection system is an autonomous control and analysis system that improves the inspection and remediation operations for ground and surface systems. It uses optical imaging technology with intelligent computer vision algorithms to analyze physical features of the real-world environment to make decisions and learn from experience. The advanced inspection system plans to control a robotic manipulator arm, an unmanned ground vehicle and cameras remotely, automatically and autonomously. There are many computer vision, image processing and machine learning techniques available as open source for using vision as a sensory feedback in decision-making and autonomous robotic movement. My responsibilities for the advanced inspection system are to create a software architecture that integrates and provides a framework for all the different subsystem components; identify open-source algorithms and techniques; and integrate robot hardware.

  4. Energy System Analysis of Solid Oxide Electrolysis cells for Synthetic Fuel Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ridjan, Iva; Mathiesen, Brian Vad; Connolly, David

    2013-01-01

    When restricting energy production to renewable energy sources, biomass, sun and wind energy are the pillars of 100% renewable energy system after implementing energy savings. Biomass resources are limited and the sustainable use of them needs to be prioritized. Future energy systems will require...... that require high energy density fuels or reused for power generation. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of fuel production cost for two types of synthetic fuels – methanol and methane, and comparable costs of biodiesel, bioethanol and biogas....

  5. Fault-Tolerant Vision for Vehicle Guidance in Agriculture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blas, Morten Rufus

    , and aiding sensors such as GPS provide means to detect and isolate single faults in the system. In addition, learning is employed to adapt the system to variational changes in the natural environment. 3D vision is enhanced by learning texture and color information. Intensity gradients on small neighborhoods...... dropout of 3D vision, faults in classification, or other defects, redundant information should be utilized. Such information can be used to diagnose faulty behavior and to temporarily continue operation with a reduced set of sensors when faults or artifacts occur. Additional sensors include GPS receivers...... and inertial sensors. To fully utilize the possibilities in 3D vision, the system must also be able to learn and adapt to changing environments. By learning features of the environment new diagnostic relations can be generated by creating redundant feed-forward information about crop location. Also, by mapping...

  6. Real-Time Implementation of an Asynchronous Vision-Based Target Tracking System for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-06-01

    Chin Khoon Quek. “Vision Based Control and Target Range Estimation for Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.” Master’s Thesis, Naval Postgraduate School...December 2005. [6] Kwee Chye Yap. “Incorporating Target Mensuration System for Target Motion Estimation Along a Road Using Asynchronous Filter

  7. Towards OpenVL: Improving Real-Time Performance of Computer Vision Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Changsong; Little, James J.; Fels, Sidney

    Meeting constraints for real-time performance is a main issue for computer vision, especially for embedded computer vision systems. This chapter presents our progress on our open vision library (OpenVL), a novel software architecture to address efficiency through facilitating hardware acceleration, reusability, and scalability for computer vision systems. A logical image understanding pipeline is introduced to allow parallel processing. We also discuss progress on our middleware—vision library utility toolkit (VLUT)—that enables applications to operate transparently over a heterogeneous collection of hardware implementations. OpenVL works as a state machine,with an event-driven mechanismto provide users with application-level interaction. Various explicit or implicit synchronization and communication methods are supported among distributed processes in the logical pipelines. The intent of OpenVL is to allow users to quickly and easily recover useful information from multiple scenes, in a cross-platform, cross-language manner across various software environments and hardware platforms. To validate the critical underlying concepts of OpenVL, a human tracking system and a local positioning system are implemented and described. The novel architecture separates the specification of algorithmic details from the underlying implementation, allowing for different components to be implemented on an embedded system without recompiling code.

  8. Directed Motivational Currents: Using vision to create effective motivational pathways

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine Muir

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Vision, that is, the mental representation of the sensory experience of a future goal state (involving imagination and imagery, is currently at the forefront of motivational innovation, and in recent years it has been seen increasingly more often in the motivational tool kit of practicing language teachers. Theories such as Dörnyei’s L2 motivational self system have explored the power that creating effective visions can harness (see, e.g., Dörnyei & Kubanyiova, 2014 and when viewed in conjunction with other current research avenues, such as future time perspective and dynamic systems theory, vision offers exciting potential. A Directed Motivational Current is a new motivational construct that we suggest is capable of integrating many current theoretical strands with vision: It can be described as a motivational drive which energises long-term, sustained behaviour (such as language learning, and through placing vision and goals as critical central components within this construct, it offers real and practical motivational potential. In this conceptual paper, we first discuss current understandings of vision and of Directed Motivational Currents, and then analyse how they may be optimally integrated and employed to create effective motivational pathways in language learning environments.

  9. Rapid, computer vision-enabled murine screening system identifies neuropharmacological potential of two new mechanisms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steven L Roberds

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available The lack of predictive in vitro models for behavioral phenotypes impedes rapid advancement in neuropharmacology and psychopharmacology. In vivo behavioral assays are more predictive of activity in human disorders, but such assays are often highly resource-intensive. Here we describe the successful application of a computer vision-enabled system to identify potential neuropharmacological activity of two new mechanisms. The analytical system was trained using multiple drugs that are used clinically to treat depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, and other psychiatric or behavioral disorders. During blinded testing the PDE10 inhibitor TP-10 produced a signature of activity suggesting potential antipsychotic activity. This finding is consistent with TP-10’s activity in multiple rodent models that is similar to that of clinically used antipsychotic drugs. The CK1ε inhibitor PF-670462 produced a signature consistent with anxiolytic activity and, at the highest dose tested, behavioral effects similar to that of opiate analgesics. Neither TP-10 nor PF-670462 was included in the training set. Thus, computer vision-based behavioral analysis can facilitate drug discovery by identifying neuropharmacological effects of compounds acting through new mechanisms.

  10. Empirical evaluation methods in computer vision

    CERN Document Server

    Christensen, Henrik I

    2002-01-01

    This book provides comprehensive coverage of methods for the empirical evaluation of computer vision techniques. The practical use of computer vision requires empirical evaluation to ensure that the overall system has a guaranteed performance. The book contains articles that cover the design of experiments for evaluation, range image segmentation, the evaluation of face recognition and diffusion methods, image matching using correlation methods, and the performance of medical image processing algorithms. Sample Chapter(s). Foreword (228 KB). Chapter 1: Introduction (505 KB). Contents: Automate

  11. Audible vision for the blind and visually impaired in indoor open spaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Xunyi; Ganz, Aura

    2012-01-01

    In this paper we introduce Audible Vision, a system that can help blind and visually impaired users navigate in large indoor open spaces. The system uses computer vision to estimate the location and orientation of the user, and enables the user to perceive his/her relative position to a landmark through 3D audio. Testing shows that Audible Vision can work reliably in real-life ever-changing environment crowded with people.

  12. Usability of light-emitting diodes in precision approach path indicator systems by individuals with marginal color vision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-05-01

    To save energy, the FAA is planning to convert from incandescent lights to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in : precision approach path indicator (PAPI) systems. Preliminary work on the usability of LEDs by color vision-waivered pilots (Bullough, Skinne...

  13. Two novel solvent system compositions for protected synthetic peptide purification by centrifugal partition chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amarouche, Nassima; Giraud, Matthieu; Forni, Luciano; Butte, Alessandro; Edwards, F; Borie, Nicolas; Renault, Jean-Hugues

    2014-04-11

    Protected synthetic peptide intermediates are often hydrophobic and not soluble in most common solvents. They are thus difficult to purify by preparative reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), usually used for industrial production. It is then challenging to develop alternative chromatographic purification processes. Support-free liquid-liquid chromatographic techniques, including both hydrostatic (centrifugal partition chromatography or CPC) and hydrodynamic (counter-current chromatography or CCC) devices, are mainly involved in phytochemical studies but have also been applied to synthetic peptide purification. In this framework, two new biphasic solvent system compositions covering a wide range of polarity were developed to overcome solubility problems mentioned above. The new systems composed of heptane/tetrahydrofuran/acetonitrile/dimethylsulfoxide/water and heptane/methyl-tetrahydrofuran/N-methylpyrrolidone/water were efficiently used for the CPC purification of a 39-mer protected exenatide (Byetta®) and a 8-mer protected peptide intermediate of bivalirudin (Angiox®) synthesis. Phase compositions of the different biphasic solvent systems were determined by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance. Physico-chemical properties including viscosity, density and interfacial tension of these biphasic systems are also described. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Natural - synthetic - artificial!

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Peter E

    2010-01-01

    The terms "natural," "synthetic" and "artificial" are discussed in relation to synthetic and artificial chromosomes and genomes, synthetic and artificial cells and artificial life.......The terms "natural," "synthetic" and "artificial" are discussed in relation to synthetic and artificial chromosomes and genomes, synthetic and artificial cells and artificial life....

  15. A Vision-Based Dynamic Rotational Angle Measurement System for Large Civil Structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jong-Jae; Ho, Hoai-Nam; Lee, Jong-Han

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, we propose a vision-based rotational angle measurement system for large-scale civil structures. Despite the fact that during the last decade several rotation angle measurement systems were introduced, they however often required complex and expensive equipment. Therefore, alternative effective solutions with high resolution are in great demand. The proposed system consists of commercial PCs, commercial camcorders, low-cost frame grabbers, and a wireless LAN router. The calculation of rotation angle is obtained by using image processing techniques with pre-measured calibration parameters. Several laboratory tests were conducted to verify the performance of the proposed system. Compared with the commercial rotation angle measurement, the results of the system showed very good agreement with an error of less than 1.0% in all test cases. Furthermore, several tests were conducted on the five-story modal testing tower with a hybrid mass damper to experimentally verify the feasibility of the proposed system. PMID:22969348

  16. Review of technological advancements in calibration systems for laser vision correction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arba-Mosquera, Samuel; Vinciguerra, Paolo; Verma, Shwetabh

    2018-02-01

    Using PubMed and our internal database, we extensively reviewed the literature on the technological advancements in calibration systems, with a motive to present an account of the development history, and latest developments in calibration systems used in refractive surgery laser systems. As a second motive, we explored the clinical impact of the error introduced due to the roughness in ablation and its corresponding effect on system calibration. The inclusion criterion for this review was strict relevance to the clinical questions under research. The existing calibration methods, including various plastic models, are highly affected by various factors involved in refractive surgery, such as temperature, airflow, and hydration. Surface roughness plays an important role in accurate measurement of ablation performance on calibration materials. The ratio of ablation efficiency between the human cornea and calibration material is very critical and highly dependent on the laser beam characteristics and test conditions. Objective evaluation of the calibration data and corresponding adjustment of the laser systems at regular intervals are essential for the continuing success and further improvements in outcomes of laser vision correction procedures.

  17. Exploring the possibilities for setting up sustainable energy systems for the long term: two visions for the Dutch energy system in 2050

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Treffers, D.J.; Faaij, A.P.C.; Spakman, J.; Seebregts, A.

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, two long-term visions of the Dutch future energy system are composed, analysed and evaluated. Both visions were set up to meet the requirement to reduce the GHG emissions with 80% in 2050 in comparison to 1990. The two visions start from very different perspectives and contexts. Quantitative analysis shows that when economic growth and energy use follow a business as usual development, emissions of GreenHouse Gases (GHG) can increase up to 250% of 1990 levels. The two, rather opposing, visions show that it is feasible to combine (strong) economic growth with far going reduction of GHG emissions, provided a number of key options are developed and applied. These options were chosen and discussed during several meetings by stakeholders in a dialogue process, using feedback from scientists, and consist of improvements in energy efficiency in industry, CO 2 neutral feedstocks for transportation, renewable energy and highly insulated buildings in the built environment and improvements in the primary production of the agricultural sector. It is clear that drastic changes in many areas in society are required to obtain the desired GHG-emission levels in 2050. The results also show though, that such a development can be realised in different ways. In other words, there are various ways to implement a low GHG emission economy in the long term

  18. Acquisition And Processing Of Range Data Using A Laser Scanner-Based 3-D Vision System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moring, I.; Ailisto, H.; Heikkinen, T.; Kilpela, A.; Myllyla, R.; Pietikainen, M.

    1988-02-01

    In our paper we describe a 3-D vision system designed and constructed at the Technical Research Centre of Finland in co-operation with the University of Oulu. The main application fields our 3-D vision system was developed for are geometric measurements of large objects and manipulator and robot control tasks. It seems to be potential in automatic vehicle guidance applications, too. The system has now been operative for about one year and its performance has been extensively tested. Recently we have started a field test phase to evaluate its performance in real industrial tasks and environments. The system consists of three main units: the range finder, the scanner and the computer. The range finder is based on the direct measurement of the time-of-flight of a laser pulse. The time-interval between the transmitted and the received light pulses is converted into a continuous analog voltage, which is amplified, filtered and offset-corrected to produce the range information. The scanner consists of two mirrors driven by moving iron galvanometers. This system is controlled by servo amplifiers. The computer unit controls the scanner, transforms the measured coordinates into a cartesian coordinate system and serves as a user interface and postprocessing environment. Methods for segmenting the range image into a higher level description have been developed. The description consists of planar and curved surfaces and their features and relations. Parametric surface representations based on the Ferguson surface patch are studied, too.

  19. Evolving cell models for systems and synthetic biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Hongqing; Romero-Campero, Francisco J; Heeb, Stephan; Cámara, Miguel; Krasnogor, Natalio

    2010-03-01

    This paper proposes a new methodology for the automated design of cell models for systems and synthetic biology. Our modelling framework is based on P systems, a discrete, stochastic and modular formal modelling language. The automated design of biological models comprising the optimization of the model structure and its stochastic kinetic constants is performed using an evolutionary algorithm. The evolutionary algorithm evolves model structures by combining different modules taken from a predefined module library and then it fine-tunes the associated stochastic kinetic constants. We investigate four alternative objective functions for the fitness calculation within the evolutionary algorithm: (1) equally weighted sum method, (2) normalization method, (3) randomly weighted sum method, and (4) equally weighted product method. The effectiveness of the methodology is tested on four case studies of increasing complexity including negative and positive autoregulation as well as two gene networks implementing a pulse generator and a bandwidth detector. We provide a systematic analysis of the evolutionary algorithm's results as well as of the resulting evolved cell models.

  20. A Fast Vision System for Soccer Robot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tianwu Yang

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a fast colour-based object recognition and localization for soccer robots. The traditional HSL colour model is modified for better colour segmentation and edge detection in a colour coded environment. The object recognition is based on only the edge pixels to speed up the computation. The edge pixels are detected by intelligently scanning a small part of whole image pixels which is distributed over the image. A fast method for line and circle centre detection is also discussed. For object localization, 26 key points are defined on the soccer field. While two or more key points can be seen from the robot camera view, the three rotation angles are adjusted to achieve a precise localization of robots and other objects. If no key point is detected, the robot position is estimated according to the history of robot movement and the feedback from the motors and sensors. The experiments on NAO and RoboErectus teen-size humanoid robots show that the proposed vision system is robust and accurate under different lighting conditions and can effectively and precisely locate robots and other objects.