4,982 research outputs found
Event-based Vision: A Survey
Event cameras are bio-inspired sensors that differ from conventional frame
cameras: Instead of capturing images at a fixed rate, they asynchronously
measure per-pixel brightness changes, and output a stream of events that encode
the time, location and sign of the brightness changes. Event cameras offer
attractive properties compared to traditional cameras: high temporal resolution
(in the order of microseconds), very high dynamic range (140 dB vs. 60 dB), low
power consumption, and high pixel bandwidth (on the order of kHz) resulting in
reduced motion blur. Hence, event cameras have a large potential for robotics
and computer vision in challenging scenarios for traditional cameras, such as
low-latency, high speed, and high dynamic range. However, novel methods are
required to process the unconventional output of these sensors in order to
unlock their potential. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the
emerging field of event-based vision, with a focus on the applications and the
algorithms developed to unlock the outstanding properties of event cameras. We
present event cameras from their working principle, the actual sensors that are
available and the tasks that they have been used for, from low-level vision
(feature detection and tracking, optic flow, etc.) to high-level vision
(reconstruction, segmentation, recognition). We also discuss the techniques
developed to process events, including learning-based techniques, as well as
specialized processors for these novel sensors, such as spiking neural
networks. Additionally, we highlight the challenges that remain to be tackled
and the opportunities that lie ahead in the search for a more efficient,
bio-inspired way for machines to perceive and interact with the world
Disentangling astroglial physiology with a realistic cell model in silico
Electrically non-excitable astroglia take up neurotransmitters, buffer extracellular K+ and generate Ca2+ signals that release molecular regulators of neural circuitry. The underlying machinery remains enigmatic, mainly because the sponge-like astrocyte morphology has been difficult to access experimentally or explore theoretically. Here, we systematically incorporate multi-scale, tri-dimensional astroglial architecture into a realistic multi-compartmental cell model, which we constrain by empirical tests and integrate into the NEURON computational biophysical environment. This approach is implemented as a flexible astrocyte-model builder ASTRO. As a proof-of-concept, we explore an in silico astrocyte to evaluate basic cell physiology features inaccessible experimentally. Our simulations suggest that currents generated by glutamate transporters or K+ channels have negligible distant effects on membrane voltage and that individual astrocytes can successfully handle extracellular K+ hotspots. We show how intracellular Ca2+ buffers affect Ca2+ waves and why the classical Ca2+ sparks-and-puffs mechanism is theoretically compatible with common readouts of astroglial Ca2+ imaging
Articulated human tracking and behavioural analysis in video sequences
Recently, there has been a dramatic growth of interest in the observation and tracking
of human subjects through video sequences. Arguably, the principal impetus has come
from the perceived demand for technological surveillance, however applications in entertainment,
intelligent domiciles and medicine are also increasing. This thesis examines
human articulated tracking and the classi cation of human movement, rst separately
and then as a sequential process.
First, this thesis considers the development and training of a 3D model of human body
structure and dynamics. To process video sequences, an observation model is also designed
with a multi-component likelihood based on edge, silhouette and colour. This is de ned on
the articulated limbs, and visible from a single or multiple cameras, each of which may be
calibrated from that sequence. Second, for behavioural analysis, we develop a methodology
in which actions and activities are described by semantic labels generated from a Movement
Cluster Model (MCM). Third, a Hierarchical Partitioned Particle Filter (HPPF) was
developed for human tracking that allows multi-level parameter search consistent with the
body structure. This tracker relies on the articulated motion prediction provided by the
MCM at pose or limb level. Fourth, tracking and movement analysis are integrated to
generate a probabilistic activity description with action labels.
The implemented algorithms for tracking and behavioural analysis are tested extensively
and independently against ground truth on human tracking and surveillance
datasets. Dynamic models are shown to predict and generate synthetic motion, while
MCM recovers both periodic and non-periodic activities, de ned either on the whole body
or at the limb level. Tracking results are comparable with the state of the art, however
the integrated behaviour analysis adds to the value of the approach.Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme (ORSAS
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