Computer aided processing using laser measurements

The challenge exists of processing the STS and its cargo through KSC facilities in the most timely and cost effective manner possible. To do this a 3-D computer graphics data base was established into which was entered the STS, payloads, and KSC facilities. The facility drawing data are enhanced by laser theodolite measurements into an as-built configuration. Elements of the data base were combined to study orbiter/facility interfaces payload/facility access problems and design/arrangement of various GSE to support processing requirements. With timely analysis/design utilizing the 3-D computer graphics system, costly delays can be avoided. Better methodology can be analyzed to determine procedures for cost avoidance

Forensic facial reconstruction using 3-D computer graphics: evaluation and improvement of its reliability in identification

This thesis is concerned with computerised forensic 3-D facial reconstruction as a means of identification and involves the restoration of the face on the skull in an attempt to achieve a close likeness of the individual when alive. The reconstruction process begins with the biological identification of the skeletal remains, (age, sex, ancestry and build). Facial reconstruction is then carried out and essentially works by building the “face” up from the skull using soft tissue thicknesses at specific locations from existing data. However, it is used as a last resort on skeletonised, badly decomposed or mutilated corpses, when no other information is available; even then it is only accepted as corroborative evidence in court. It is performed in the hope that it may stimulate recognition, and consequently narrow the field of identification, allowing other tests to be carried out, such as radiographic and/or dental comparisons, DNA analysis or other means, to establish positive identification. The advantages of the computerised method over the manual clay reconstruction are speed, rapid editing capability, production of images that can be stored and reconstructions repeated at any time if required. Furthermore, in many cases, the original skull instead of a cast or model may be used for reconstruction because the 3-D computerised procedure is rapid and non invasive. However, the most significant advantage of this technique with regard to the aims and objectives of the thesis is that a number of alternative reconstructions may be produced sequentially for the same skull by using different facial templates from the database that meet the anthropological/biological criteria of the skull. The issues addressed by the study and therefore its main aims are: a) evaluation and b) improvement of the reliability of facial reconstruction using 3-D computer graphics. The methodology involved initially digitizing a skull using a low-power laser scanner and a video camera interfaced to a computer. From a database of previously scanned faces, ten facial templates were selected that matched the anthropological criteria of each of the skulls, i.e. age, sex, ancestry and build. Landmarks with their corresponding soft tissue thicknesses were then located and placed on the skull and the equivalent ones on the face. The 3-D computer graphics then reconstructed the face by morphing (warping) the facial template over the skull by matching the corresponding landmarks on the skull and face with the appropriate soft tissue thicknesses at those landmark locations. The soft tissue thicknesses used at their specific landmark locations also matched the anthropological criteria of the skulls, since soft tissue depths are dependent on age, sex, ancestry and build. One of the major problems with any reconstruction which affect its reliability for identification is the uncertainty of the shape of some of the individual characteristics of soft tissue structures such as shape of lips, ears and nose/nasal tip since there is not direct information on the skull regarding the shape of some of these features. In addition, with the laser scanning system, the faces within the database all have closed eyes, because of the potential laser hazard to the eyes. Thus it is necessary to add “opened” eyes, head and facial hair (where appropriate) to give a realistic appearance to the face. The software provides the facility to export a 2-D view in a TIFF or JPEG format from the 3-D reconstructed image. The file can then be imported into a police identi-kit system such as E-FIT™, which allows the addition of features. In this study five skulls of known individuals were used for reconstruction in the manner explained. Ten facial templates which fulfilled the anthropological criteria (age, sex, ancestry and build) for each skull were used for the rebuilding process, thus totalling fifty reconstructions. The study employed a psychological resemblance test (experiment 1) where 20 different assessors, were asked to select in each case study, the best three matches of the ten reconstructions with the ante-mortem photograph of the individual during life. The results from these tests were correlated with a mathematical shape analysis assessment using Procrustes Analysis in which, the skull was compared in turn with each of the ten facial templates of each case study (experiment 2).The ranking of the assessors’ reconstruction choice was correlated with the ranking of the Procrustes Analysis by using Spearman’s Rank Order Correlation. The results indicate that although not statistically significant, it would seem however, that in some of the case studies, the mathematical approach using Procrustes Analysis does seems to capture some perceptual similarity in human observers. Experiment 3, similar to experiment 1, was a further psychological resemblance test, which involved implementing E-Fit features on four of the ten reconstructed images per case study. Assessors were asked to select the closest E-Fit image match with the ante-mortem photograph. Again, results indicated that, although not statistically significant, adding E-Fit feature to the images appears to improve perceptual similarity in human observers, provided, the limitations of adding these characteristics are addressed. Furthermore, there also appears to be good agreement in most of the case studies between the two psychological resemblance tests using the two different sets of assessors in experiment 1 and 3 (reconstruction choice and E-Fit choice, respectively). Further work involving anthropometric comparisons and using two methods of assessment (landmark line matching between images and proportion indices) was also carried out (experiment 4). It was found that matching landmark lines between images appeared to be only of limited value due to the images not being aligned at exactly the same viewpoint and magnification. It should be appreciated that because the thesis was based on recognition and was not an anthropometric study, precise alignment of viewpoints was not a requirement. Hence using the same data from the study, although images were in the frontal view, they were not aligned to the accuracy acceptable for an anthropometric study as there was no requirement to so. It would appear that, although there was some correspondence between the discrepant distances and the first and second ranked reconstructions, no firm conclusions could be drawn from this technique and therefore does not assist in understanding the way observers made their choices. Further tests would need to be carried out (beyond the scope of the thesis) to reach any firm conclusions. Undoubtedly, given the complex nature of the recognition process, it would have been desirable to use reconstructions of persons known to the assessors rather than asking them to assess unfamiliar persons, since it is well established that familiar faces are easier to recognize than those that are unfamiliar to observers. It should be appreciated however, that, although the study was designed in this way for practical and ethical reasons, it nevertheless does not truly reflect the real operational forensic scenario. Furthermore, recognition/matching is a much more complex process and even a reconstructed face which may be generally morphologically similar to the person in life may not capture perceptual similarity in human observers, especially in an unfamiliar scenario. It is not certain that identification will always occur even when the facial reconstruction bears good resemblance to the target individual

Video guide to design flexible DNA.mp4

Model file name: Video guide to design flexible DNA.mp4 Authors: Michelle E Howell, Karin van Dijk, Christine S Booth, Tomas Helikar, Brian A Couch, Rebecca L Roston This 30-minute video includes step-by-step instructions to design and 3-D print a long flexible DNA model that mimics the structure and function of DNA. The instructions are applicable for designing the model using open-source 3-D computer graphics software Blender 2.79 which is available for download at https://www.blender.org/download/. .mp4 file download (70 MB) below

Plaid evaluation of visual access for PDP berthing and deployment

Tests were performed to evaluate visual access for berthing and deployment of the Plasma Diagnostic Package (PDP) in Space Transportation 4 Flight (STS-4). The Panel Layout Automated Interactive Design (PLAID), a 3 D computer graphics package, was used to construct models of the PDP, pallet, orbiter payload bay, the Remote Manipulator System (RMS), and other relevant elements to represent the STS-4 configuration. Several different assemblies were made, each one representing a snapshot of the PDP during berth/deploy maneuvers. Thirty-six views were produced during this test

Kids 'n space : explorations into spatial cognition of children learning 3-D computer graphics

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1990.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 261-273).by Judy E. Sachter.Ph.D

Survey of image-based representations and compression techniques

In this paper, we survey the techniques for image-based rendering (IBR) and for compressing image-based representations. Unlike traditional three-dimensional (3-D) computer graphics, in which 3-D geometry of the scene is known, IBR techniques render novel views directly from input images. IBR techniques can be classified into three categories according to how much geometric information is used: rendering without geometry, rendering with implicit geometry (i.e., correspondence), and rendering with explicit geometry (either with approximate or accurate geometry). We discuss the characteristics of these categories and their representative techniques. IBR techniques demonstrate a surprising diverse range in their extent of use of images and geometry in representing 3-D scenes. We explore the issues in trading off the use of images and geometry by revisiting plenoptic-sampling analysis and the notions of view dependency and geometric proxies. Finally, we highlight compression techniques specifically designed for image-based representations. Such compression techniques are important in making IBR techniques practical.published_or_final_versio

Computer Graphics Education at the Faculty of Informatics of Kansai University

This paper describes the Computer Graphics education at the Faculty of Informatics, which is newly established in 1994, of Kansai University. This faculty focuses on inter-academic research and educational fields related to "information," which involves science, engineering, sociology, economics, politics, and so on. Recently, Computer Graphics has been playing an important role in visualizing several kinds of information, so that fundamental education in Computer Graphics will be required in every field. The resulting educational problem in this faculty concerns the different motivations, goals, backgrounds and skills of students should be educated equally in the same classes. To solve this problem, a multi-modal curriculum involving one lecture and two laboratory sessions for 3-D Computer Graphics has been established as the most effective way to diseminate knowledge and skills for all students. The hardware and software environments for laboratory sessions are considered, and the validity of the educational system is evaluated in the preliminary laboratory session and private seminar using a high-end graphics system during 1995

知的障害児のためのCG を用いた 文字・発音教育支援ソフトウエアの開発

The authors developed educational software using 3-D Computer Graphics (CG) animation for mentally handicapped children. The software aimed to allow learners to practice reading Japanese hiragana characters by looking at CG animations of hiragana characters and listening to their sounds. The learners can simultaneously watch the mouth movements of hiragana characters while listening to their pronunciation in order to understand the relationship between hiragana characters, their pronunciation, and mouth movements. The authors also developed drill and practice software as well as game software for the purpose of learning hiragana characters. These three types of software were utilized at a special support school in Kurume, Japan, with our university students assisting children in using the software in the classroom.In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the software, the learning process of the children was videotaped and analyzed. The results showed that children could read hiragana characters more accurately after studying with the software

A low-power geometric mapping co-processor for high-speed graphics application

In this article we present a novel design of a low-power geometric mapping co-processor that can be used for high-performance graphics system. The processor can carry out any single or a combination of transformations belonging to affine transformation family ranging from 1-D to 3-D. It allows interactive operations which can be defined either by a user (allowing it to be a stand-alone geometric transformation processor) or by a host processor (allowing it to be a co-processor to accelerate certain graphics operations). It occupies a silicon area of 6 mm2 and consumes 40 mW power when synthesized with 0.25?m technology