Partial differential equations for function based geometry modelling within visual cyberworlds

We propose the use of Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) for shape modelling within visual cyberworlds. PDEs, especially those that are elliptic in nature, enable surface modelling to be defined as boundary-value problems. Here we show how the PDE based on the Biharmonic equation subject to suitable boundary conditions can be used for shape modelling within visual cyberworlds. We discuss an analytic solution formulation for the Biharmonic equation which allows us to define a function based geometry whereby the resulting geometry can be visualised efficiently at arbitrary levels of shape resolutions. In particular, we discuss how function based PDE surfaces can be readily integrated within VRML and X3D environment

Efficient integration of software components for scientific simulations

Abstract unavailable please refer to PD

Visualizing Information on a Sphere

We describe a method for the visualization of information units on spherical domains which is employed in the banking industry for risk analysis, stock prediction and other tasks. The system is based on a quantification of the similarity of related objects that governs the parameters of a mass-spring system. Unlike existing approaches we initialize all information units onto the inner surface of two concentric spheres and attach them with springs to the outer sphere. Since the spring stiffnesses correspond to the computed similarity measures, the system converges into an energy minimum which reveals multidimensional relations and adjacencies in terms of spatial neighborhoods. Depending on the application scenario our approach supports different topological arrangements of related objects. In order to cope with large data sets we propose a blobby clustering mechanism that enables encapsulation of similar objects by implicit shapes. In addition, we implemented various interaction techniques allowing semantic analysis of the underlying data sets. Our prototype system IVORY is written in JAVA, and its versatility is illustrated by an example from financial service providers

Adaptive 3D web-based environment for heterogeneous volume objects.

The Internet was growing fast on the last decade. Interaction and visualisation became an essential feature online. The demand for online modelling and rendering in a real-time, adaptive and interactive manner exceeded the growth and development of the hardware resources including computational power and memories. Building up and accessing an instant 3D Web-based and plugin-free platform started to be a must in order to generate 3D volumes. Modelling and rendering complicated heterogeneous volumes using online applications requires good Internet bandwidth and high computational power. A large number of 3D modelling tools designed to create complicated models in an interactive manner are now available online, the problem of using such tools is that the user needs to acquire a certain level of modelling knowledge In this work, we identify the problem, introduce the theoretical background and discuss the theory about Web-based modelling and rendering, including client- server approach, scenario optimization by solving constraint satisfaction problem, and complexity analysis. We address the challenges of designing, implementing and testing an online, Web-based, instant 3D modelling and rendering environment and we discuss some of its characteristics including adaptivity, platform independence, interactivity, and easy-to-use after presenting the theoretical part of implementing such an environment. We also introduce platform-independent modelling and rendering environment for complicated heterogeneous volumes with colour attributes based on client- server architecture. The work includes analysis and implementation for different rendering approaches suitable for different kind of users. We also discuss the performance of the proposed environment by comparing the rendering approaches. As an additional feature of our modelling system, we discuss aspects of securing the model transferring between client and the server

Autonomic visualisation.

This thesis introduces the concept of autonomic visualisation, where principles of autonomic systems are brought to the field of visualisation infrastructure. Problems in visualisation have a specific set of requirements which are not always met by existing systems. The first half of this thesis explores a specific problem for large scale visualisation; that of data management. Visualisation algorithms have somewhat different requirements to other external memory problems, due to the fact that they often require access to all, or a large subset, of the data in a way that is highly dependent on the view. This thesis proposes a knowledge-based approach to pre-fetching in this context, and presents evidence that such an approach yields good performance. The knowledge based approach is incorporated into a five-layer model, which provides a systematic way of categorising and designing out-of-core, or external memory, systems. This model is demonstrated with two example implementations, on in the local and one in the remote context. The second half explores autonomic visualisation in the more general case. A simulation tool, created for the purpose of designing autonomic visualisation infrastructure is presented. This tool, SimEAC, provides a way of facilitating the development of techniques for managing large-scale visualisation systems. The abstract design of the simulation system, as well as details of the implementation are presented. The architecture of the simulator is explored, and then the system is evaluated in a number of case studies indicating some of the ways in which it can be used. The simulator provides a framework for experimentation and rapid prototyping of large scale autonomic systems

360º Indoors image processing for 3D model reconstruction

In this modern age of computer technology we are pushing the unimaginable limits of our reality. One of the human desires with these advances is to digitise the vast amount of information that is present in our reality. An important source of information is the 3-dimensional space in which we live. Especially indoors environments that we frequently occupy, for example, living places. With the proliferation of photographing devices, the development of cheap omnidirectional cameras has been one of the interests. So nowadays it is quite easy to obtain spatial data of interior spaces in form of equirectangular images. In this project we study the problem of 3D Indoors Model Reconstruction from Spherical Images. Though, we study it under perspective based methods as it is possible to perform the conversion from one to other. We first formally specify the problem to be solved. We find many different specifications and describe reconstruction methods for some of them. We choose one specification for our use case. Most of the methods require feature extraction and matching, and then performing multi-view geometry estimation. We continue the study of these methods in the experimentation phase. We propose different hypothesis relevant to different steps, perform experiments and form our conclusions. We finish our work by implementing a very simple system solving this problem, making use of ASIFT feature extractor, FLANN kD-Tree feature matcher, and OpenCV's essential matrix estimation algorithm.En aquesta era moderna de la tecnologia de computadors estem empenyent els líımits inimaginables de la nostra realitat. Una de les aspiracions humanes amb aquests avenços és la digitalització de l’enorme quantitat d’informació present en la nostra realitat. Una de les fonts importants d’informació és l’espai 3-dimensional en el que vivim. Especialment, els entorns interiors que habitem, per exemple, els habitatges. Amb la proliferació dels dispositius fotogràfics, el desenvolupament de càmeres omnidireccionals barates ha estat un dels interessos. Per aquest motiu, avui en dia és molt fàcil obtenir dades espacials dels espais interiors en forma d’imatges equirectangulars. En aquest projecte estudiem el problema de la Reconstrucció de Models 3D d’Interiors a partir d’Imatges Esfèriques. Tanmateix, estudiem el problema fent ús de mètodes basats en la perspectiva ja que és possible fer la conversió d’un a l’altre. En primer lloc, especifiquem formalment el problema a resoldre. A continuació, trobem diverses especificacions i descrivim mètodes de reconstruccions per algunes d’elles. Seleccionem una especificaciò pel nostre cas d’ús. La majoria de mètodes utilitzen feature extraction, feature matching i epipolar geometry. Continuem l’estudi amb la fase d’experimentació. Proposem hipòtesis rellevants a diferents passos, realitzem els experiments i extraiem conclusions. Acabem el treball implementant un sistema simple resolent el problema, fent ús de ASIFT feature extractor, FLANN kD- Tree feature matcher, i l’algorisme d’OpenCV per l’aproximació de la matriu essencialEn esta era moderna de tecnología de computadores estamos empujando los límites inimaginables de nuestra realidad. Una de las aspiraciones humanas con estos avances es la digitalización de la tremenda cantidad de información presente en nuestra realidad. Una de las importantes fuentes de información es el espacio 3-dimensional en que vivimos. Especialmente los entornos interiores que habitamos, por ejemplo, las viviendas. Con la proliferación de los dispositivos fotográficos, el desarrollo de cámaras omnidireccionales baratas ha sido uno de los intereses. Por ello, hoy en día es muy fácil de obtener datos espaciales de los espacios interiores en forma de imágenes equirectangulares. En este proyecto estudiamos el problema de Reconstrucción de Modelos 3D de Interiores desde Imágenes Esféricas. Sin embargo, estudiamos el problema bajo métodos basados en la perspectiva ya que es posible hacer la conversión de uno al otro. Primero especificamos formalmente el problema a resolver. Encontramos distintas especificaciones y describimos métodos de reconstruccion para algunas de ellas. Seleccionamos una especificación para nuestro caso de uso. La mayoría de métodos utilizan feature extraction, feature matching, y epipolar geometry. Continuamos el estudio en la fase de experimentación. Proponemos hipótesis relevantes a diferentes pasos, realizamos los experimentos y sacamos conclusiones. Acabamos el trabajo implementando un sistema simple resolviendo el problema, haciendo uso de ASIFT feature extractor, FLANN kD-Tree feature matcher, y el algoritmo de OpenCV para la aproximación de la matriz esencial

A Linear Logic approach to RESTful web service modelling and composition

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophyRESTful Web Services are gaining increasing attention from both the service and the Web communities. The rising number of services being implemented and made available on the Web is creating a demand for modelling techniques that can abstract REST design from the implementation in order better to specify, analyse and implement large-scale RESTful Web systems. It can also help by providing suitable RESTful Web Service composition methods which can reduce costs by effi ciently re-using the large number of services that are already available and by exploiting existing services for complex business purposes. This research considers RESTful Web Services as state transition systems and proposes a novel Linear Logic based approach, the first of its kind, for both the modelling and the composition of RESTful Web Services. The thesis demonstrates the capabilities of resource-sensitive Linear Logic for modelling five key REST constraints and proposes a two-stage approach to service composition involving Linear Logic theorem proving and proof-as-process based on the π-calculus. Whereas previous approaches have focused on each aspect of the composition of RESTful Web Services individually (e.g. execution or high-level modelling), this work bridges the gap between abstract formal modelling and application-level execution in an efficient and effective way. The approach not only ensures the completeness and correctness of the resulting composed services but also produces their process models naturally, providing the possibility to translate them into executable business languages. Furthermore, the research encodes the proposed modelling and composition method into the Coq proof assistant, which enables both the Linear Logic theorem proving and the π-calculus extraction to be conducted semi-automatically. The feasibility and versatility studies performed in two disparate user scenarios (shopping and biomedical service composition) show that the proposed method provides a good level of scalability when the numbers of services and resources grow