Feature Extraction

Feature extraction is a procedure aimed at selecting and transforming a data set in order to increase the performance of a pattern recognition or machine learning system. Nowadays, since the amount of data available and its dimension is growing exponentially, it is a fundamental procedure to avoid overfitting and the curse of dimensionality, while, in some cases, allowing a interpretative analysis of the data. The topic itself is a thriving discipline of study, and it is difficult to address every single feature extraction algorithm. Therefore, we provide an overview of the topic, introducing widely used techniques, while at the same time presenting some domain-specific feature extraction algorithms. Finally, as a case, study, we will illustrate the vastness of the field by analysing the usage and impact of feature extraction in neuroimaging

Vision-based techniques for gait recognition

Global security concerns have raised a proliferation of video surveillance devices. Intelligent surveillance systems seek to discover possible threats automatically and raise alerts. Being able to identify the surveyed object can help determine its threat level. The current generation of devices provide digital video data to be analysed for time varying features to assist in the identification process. Commonly, people queue up to access a facility and approach a video camera in full frontal view. In this environment, a variety of biometrics are available - for example, gait which includes temporal features like stride period. Gait can be measured unobtrusively at a distance. The video data will also include face features, which are short-range biometrics. In this way, one can combine biometrics naturally using one set of data. In this paper we survey current techniques of gait recognition and modelling with the environment in which the research was conducted. We also discuss in detail the issues arising from deriving gait data, such as perspective and occlusion effects, together with the associated computer vision challenges of reliable tracking of human movement. Then, after highlighting these issues and challenges related to gait processing, we proceed to discuss the frameworks combining gait with other biometrics. We then provide motivations for a novel paradigm in biometrics-based human recognition, i.e. the use of the fronto-normal view of gait as a far-range biometrics combined with biometrics operating at a near distance

Identification sans contrainte de stationnarité d'un modèle AR d'une texture

Un problème classique en analyse d'image est d'obtenir une modélisation caractéristique d'images texturées. L'utilisation d'un modèle AR-2D fournit souvent des solutions efficaces. Cependant, l'identification des coefficients d'un tel modèle est assujettie à l'hypothèse de stationnarité du signal. Pour résoudre ce problème, nous considérons la distribution spatiale du signal générateur utilisé avec le modèle AR-2D. L'originalité de ce travail vient d'une identification simultanée des paramètres du modèle et des échantillons du générateur, ceci par un processus neuronal. Ainsi, comme résultats nouveaux, nous proposons une méthode permettant de représenter une texture par un couple d'attributs, un modèle AR-2D et une distribution spatiale du signal générateur

A Panorama on Multiscale Geometric Representations, Intertwining Spatial, Directional and Frequency Selectivity

The richness of natural images makes the quest for optimal representations in image processing and computer vision challenging. The latter observation has not prevented the design of image representations, which trade off between efficiency and complexity, while achieving accurate rendering of smooth regions as well as reproducing faithful contours and textures. The most recent ones, proposed in the past decade, share an hybrid heritage highlighting the multiscale and oriented nature of edges and patterns in images. This paper presents a panorama of the aforementioned literature on decompositions in multiscale, multi-orientation bases or dictionaries. They typically exhibit redundancy to improve sparsity in the transformed domain and sometimes its invariance with respect to simple geometric deformations (translation, rotation). Oriented multiscale dictionaries extend traditional wavelet processing and may offer rotation invariance. Highly redundant dictionaries require specific algorithms to simplify the search for an efficient (sparse) representation. We also discuss the extension of multiscale geometric decompositions to non-Euclidean domains such as the sphere or arbitrary meshed surfaces. The etymology of panorama suggests an overview, based on a choice of partially overlapping "pictures". We hope that this paper will contribute to the appreciation and apprehension of a stream of current research directions in image understanding.Comment: 65 pages, 33 figures, 303 reference

Pattern Recognition

A wealth of advanced pattern recognition algorithms are emerging from the interdiscipline between technologies of effective visual features and the human-brain cognition process. Effective visual features are made possible through the rapid developments in appropriate sensor equipments, novel filter designs, and viable information processing architectures. While the understanding of human-brain cognition process broadens the way in which the computer can perform pattern recognition tasks. The present book is intended to collect representative researches around the globe focusing on low-level vision, filter design, features and image descriptors, data mining and analysis, and biologically inspired algorithms. The 27 chapters coved in this book disclose recent advances and new ideas in promoting the techniques, technology and applications of pattern recognition

Face recognition by means of advanced contributions in machine learning

Face recognition (FR) has been extensively studied, due to both scientific fundamental challenges and current and potential applications where human identification is needed. FR systems have the benefits of their non intrusiveness, low cost of equipments and no useragreement requirements when doing acquisition, among the most important ones. Nevertheless, despite the progress made in last years and the different solutions proposed, FR performance is not yet satisfactory when more demanding conditions are required (different viewpoints, blocked effects, illumination changes, strong lighting states, etc). Particularly, the effect of such non-controlled lighting conditions on face images leads to one of the strongest distortions in facial appearance. This dissertation addresses the problem of FR when dealing with less constrained illumination situations. In order to approach the problem, a new multi-session and multi-spectral face database has been acquired in visible, Near-infrared (NIR) and Thermal infrared (TIR) spectra, under different lighting conditions. A theoretical analysis using information theory to demonstrate the complementarities between different spectral bands have been firstly carried out. The optimal exploitation of the information provided by the set of multispectral images has been subsequently addressed by using multimodal matching score fusion techniques that efficiently synthesize complementary meaningful information among different spectra. Due to peculiarities in thermal images, a specific face segmentation algorithm has been required and developed. In the final proposed system, the Discrete Cosine Transform as dimensionality reduction tool and a fractional distance for matching were used, so that the cost in processing time and memory was significantly reduced. Prior to this classification task, a selection of the relevant frequency bands is proposed in order to optimize the overall system, based on identifying and maximizing independence relations by means of discriminability criteria. The system has been extensively evaluated on the multispectral face database specifically performed for our purpose. On this regard, a new visualization procedure has been suggested in order to combine different bands for establishing valid comparisons and giving statistical information about the significance of the results. This experimental framework has more easily enabled the improvement of robustness against training and testing illumination mismatch. Additionally, focusing problem in thermal spectrum has been also addressed, firstly, for the more general case of the thermal images (or thermograms), and then for the case of facialthermograms from both theoretical and practical point of view. In order to analyze the quality of such facial thermograms degraded by blurring, an appropriate algorithm has been successfully developed. Experimental results strongly support the proposed multispectral facial image fusion, achieving very high performance in several conditions. These results represent a new advance in providing a robust matching across changes in illumination, further inspiring highly accurate FR approaches in practical scenarios.El reconeixement facial (FR) ha estat àmpliament estudiat, degut tant als reptes fonamentals científics que suposa com a les aplicacions actuals i futures on requereix la identificació de les persones. Els sistemes de reconeixement facial tenen els avantatges de ser no intrusius,presentar un baix cost dels equips d’adquisició i no la no necessitat d’autorització per part de l’individu a l’hora de realitzar l'adquisició, entre les més importants. De totes maneres i malgrat els avenços aconseguits en els darrers anys i les diferents solucions proposades, el rendiment del FR encara no resulta satisfactori quan es requereixen condicions més exigents (diferents punts de vista, efectes de bloqueig, canvis en la il·luminació, condicions de llum extremes, etc.). Concretament, l'efecte d'aquestes variacions no controlades en les condicions d'il·luminació sobre les imatges facials condueix a una de les distorsions més accentuades sobre l'aparença facial. Aquesta tesi aborda el problema del FR en condicions d'il·luminació menys restringides. Per tal d'abordar el problema, hem adquirit una nova base de dades de cara multisessió i multiespectral en l'espectre infraroig visible, infraroig proper (NIR) i tèrmic (TIR), sota diferents condicions d'il·luminació. En primer lloc s'ha dut a terme una anàlisi teòrica utilitzant la teoria de la informació per demostrar la complementarietat entre les diferents bandes espectrals objecte d’estudi. L'òptim aprofitament de la informació proporcionada pel conjunt d'imatges multiespectrals s'ha abordat posteriorment mitjançant l'ús de tècniques de fusió de puntuació multimodals, capaces de sintetitzar de manera eficient el conjunt d’informació significativa complementària entre els diferents espectres. A causa de les característiques particulars de les imatges tèrmiques, s’ha requerit del desenvolupament d’un algorisme específic per la segmentació de les mateixes. En el sistema proposat final, s’ha utilitzat com a eina de reducció de la dimensionalitat de les imatges, la Transformada del Cosinus Discreta i una distància fraccional per realitzar les tasques de classificació de manera que el cost en temps de processament i de memòria es va reduir de forma significa. Prèviament a aquesta tasca de classificació, es proposa una selecció de les bandes de freqüències més rellevants, basat en la identificació i la maximització de les relacions d'independència per mitjà de criteris discriminabilitat, per tal d'optimitzar el conjunt del sistema. El sistema ha estat àmpliament avaluat sobre la base de dades de cara multiespectral, desenvolupada pel nostre propòsit. En aquest sentit s'ha suggerit l’ús d’un nou procediment de visualització per combinar diferents bandes per poder establir comparacions vàlides i donar informació estadística sobre el significat dels resultats. Aquest marc experimental ha permès més fàcilment la millora de la robustesa quan les condicions d’il·luminació eren diferents entre els processos d’entrament i test. De forma complementària, s’ha tractat la problemàtica de l’enfocament de les imatges en l'espectre tèrmic, en primer lloc, pel cas general de les imatges tèrmiques (o termogrames) i posteriorment pel cas concret dels termogrames facials, des dels punt de vista tant teòric com pràctic. En aquest sentit i per tal d'analitzar la qualitat d’aquests termogrames facials degradats per efectes de desenfocament, s'ha desenvolupat un últim algorisme. Els resultats experimentals recolzen fermament que la fusió d'imatges facials multiespectrals proposada assoleix un rendiment molt alt en diverses condicions d’il·luminació. Aquests resultats representen un nou avenç en l’aportació de solucions robustes quan es contemplen canvis en la il·luminació, i esperen poder inspirar a futures implementacions de sistemes de reconeixement facial precisos en escenaris no controlats.Postprint (published version