A Natural Image Pointillism with Controlled Ellipse Dots

This paper presents an image-based artistic rendering algorithm for the automatic Pointillism style. At first, ellipse dot locations are randomly generated based on a source image; then dot orientations are precalculated with help of a direction map; a saliency map of the source image decides long and short radius of the ellipse dot. At last, the rendering runs layer-by-layer from large size dots to small size dots so as to reserve the detailed parts of the image. Although only ellipse dot shape is adopted, the final Pointillism style performs well because of variable characteristics of the dot

ImageNet Large Scale Visual Recognition Challenge

The ImageNet Large Scale Visual Recognition Challenge is a benchmark in object category classification and detection on hundreds of object categories and millions of images. The challenge has been run annually from 2010 to present, attracting participation from more than fifty institutions. This paper describes the creation of this benchmark dataset and the advances in object recognition that have been possible as a result. We discuss the challenges of collecting large-scale ground truth annotation, highlight key breakthroughs in categorical object recognition, provide a detailed analysis of the current state of the field of large-scale image classification and object detection, and compare the state-of-the-art computer vision accuracy with human accuracy. We conclude with lessons learned in the five years of the challenge, and propose future directions and improvements.Comment: 43 pages, 16 figures. v3 includes additional comparisons with PASCAL VOC (per-category comparisons in Table 3, distribution of localization difficulty in Fig 16), a list of queries used for obtaining object detection images (Appendix C), and some additional reference

Video based dynamic scene analysis and multi-style abstraction.

Tao, Chenjun.Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-97).Abstracts in English and Chinese.Abstract --- p.iAcknowledgements --- p.iiiChapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1Chapter 1.1 --- Window-oriented Retargeting --- p.1Chapter 1.2 --- Abstraction Rendering --- p.4Chapter 1.3 --- Thesis Outline --- p.6Chapter 2 --- Related Work --- p.7Chapter 2.1 --- Video Migration --- p.8Chapter 2.2 --- Video Synopsis --- p.9Chapter 2.3 --- Periodic Motion --- p.14Chapter 2.4 --- Video Tracking --- p.14Chapter 2.5 --- Video Stabilization --- p.15Chapter 2.6 --- Video Completion --- p.20Chapter 3 --- Active Window Oriented Video Retargeting --- p.21Chapter 3.1 --- System Model --- p.21Chapter 3.1.1 --- Foreground Extraction --- p.23Chapter 3.1.2 --- Optimizing Active Windows --- p.27Chapter 3.1.3 --- Initialization --- p.29Chapter 3.2 --- Experiments --- p.32Chapter 3.3 --- Summary --- p.37Chapter 4 --- Multi-Style Abstract Image Rendering --- p.39Chapter 4.1 --- Abstract Images --- p.39Chapter 4.2 --- Multi-Style Abstract Image Rendering --- p.42Chapter 4.2.1 --- Multi-style Processing --- p.45Chapter 4.2.2 --- Layer-based Rendering --- p.46Chapter 4.2.3 --- Abstraction --- p.47Chapter 4.3 --- Experimental Results --- p.49Chapter 4.4 --- Summary --- p.56Chapter 5 --- Interactive Abstract Videos --- p.58Chapter 5.1 --- Abstract Videos --- p.58Chapter 5.2 --- Multi-Style Abstract Video --- p.59Chapter 5.2.1 --- Abstract Images --- p.60Chapter 5.2.2 --- Video Morphing --- p.65Chapter 5.2.3 --- Interactive System --- p.69Chapter 5.3 --- Interactive Videos --- p.76Chapter 5.4 --- Summary --- p.77Chapter 6 --- Conclusions --- p.81Chapter A --- List of Publications --- p.83Chapter B --- Optical flow --- p.84Chapter C --- Belief Propagation --- p.86Bibliography --- p.8

How sketches work: a cognitive theory for improved system design

Evidence is presented that in the early stages of design or composition the mental processes used by artists for visual invention require a different type of support from those used for visualising a nearly complete object. Most research into machine visualisation has as its goal the production of realistic images which simulate the light pattern presented to the retina by real objects. In contrast sketch attributes preserve the results of cognitive processing which can be used interactively to amplify visual thought. The traditional attributes of sketches include many types of indeterminacy which may reflect the artist's need to be "vague". Drawing on contemporary theories of visual cognition and neuroscience this study discusses in detail the evidence for the following functions which are better served by rough sketches than by the very realistic imagery favoured in machine visualising systems. 1. Sketches are intermediate representational types which facilitate the mental translation between descriptive and depictive modes of representing visual thought. 2. Sketch attributes exploit automatic processes of perceptual retrieval and object recognition to improve the availability of tacit knowledge for visual invention. 3. Sketches are percept-image hybrids. The incomplete physical attributes of sketches elicit and stabilise a stream of super-imposed mental images which amplify inventive thought. 4. By segregating and isolating meaningful components of visual experience, sketches may assist the user to attend selectively to a limited part of a visual task, freeing otherwise over-loaded cognitive resources for visual thought. 5. Sequences of sketches and sketching acts support the short term episodic memory for cognitive actions. This assists creativity, providing voluntary control over highly practised mental processes which can otherwise become stereotyped. An attempt is made to unite the five hypothetical functions. Drawing on the Baddeley and Hitch model of working memory, it is speculated that the five functions may be related to a limited capacity monitoring mechanism which makes tacit visual knowledge explicitly available for conscious control and manipulation. It is suggested that the resources available to the human brain for imagining nonexistent objects are a cultural adaptation of visual mechanisms which evolved in early hominids for responding to confusing or incomplete stimuli from immediately present objects and events. Sketches are cultural inventions which artificially mimic aspects of such stimuli in order to capture these shared resources for the different purpose of imagining objects which do not yet exist. Finally the implications of the theory for the design of improved machine systems is discussed. The untidy attributes of traditional sketches are revealed to include cultural inventions which serve subtle cognitive functions. However traditional media have many short-comings which it should be possible to correct with new technology. Existing machine systems for sketching tend to imitate nonselectively the media bound properties of sketches without regard to the functions they serve. This may prove to be a mistake. It is concluded that new system designs are needed in which meaningfully structured data and specialised imagery amplify without interference or replacement the impressive but limited creative resources of the visual brain