Motion Detection by Microcontroller for Panning Cameras

Motion detection is the first essential process in the extraction of information regarding moving objects. The approaches based on background difference are the most used with fixed cameras to perform motion detection, because of the high quality of the achieved segmentation. However, real time requirements and high costs prevent most of the algorithms proposed in literature to exploit the background difference with panning cameras in real world applications. This paper presents a new algorithm to detect moving objects within a scene acquired by panning cameras. The algorithm for motion detection is implemented on a Raspberry Pi microcontroller, which enables the design and implementation of a low-cost monitoring system.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Architectures for ubiquitous 3D on heterogeneous computing platforms

Today, a wide scope for 3D graphics applications exists, including domains such as scientific visualization, 3D-enabled web pages, and entertainment. At the same time, the devices and platforms that run and display the applications are more heterogeneous than ever. Display environments range from mobile devices to desktop systems and ultimately to distributed displays that facilitate collaborative interaction. While the capability of the client devices may vary considerably, the visualization experiences running on them should be consistent. The field of application should dictate how and on what devices users access the application, not the technical requirements to realize the 3D output. The goal of this thesis is to examine the diverse challenges involved in providing consistent and scalable visualization experiences to heterogeneous computing platforms and display setups. While we could not address the myriad of possible use cases, we developed a comprehensive set of rendering architectures in the major domains of scientific and medical visualization, web-based 3D applications, and movie virtual production. To provide the required service quality, performance, and scalability for different client devices and displays, our architectures focus on the efficient utilization and combination of the available client, server, and network resources. We present innovative solutions that incorporate methods for hybrid and distributed rendering as well as means to manage data sets and stream rendering results. We establish the browser as a promising platform for accessible and portable visualization services. We collaborated with experts from the medical field and the movie industry to evaluate the usability of our technology in real-world scenarios. The presented architectures achieve a wide coverage of display and rendering setups and at the same time share major components and concepts. Thus, they build a strong foundation for a unified system that supports a variety of use cases.Heutzutage existiert ein großer Anwendungsbereich für 3D-Grafikapplikationen wie wissenschaftliche Visualisierungen, 3D-Inhalte in Webseiten, und Unterhaltungssoftware. Gleichzeitig sind die Geräte und Plattformen, welche die Anwendungen ausführen und anzeigen, heterogener als je zuvor. Anzeigegeräte reichen von mobilen Geräten zu Desktop-Systemen bis hin zu verteilten Bildschirmumgebungen, die eine kollaborative Anwendung begünstigen. Während die Leistungsfähigkeit der Geräte stark schwanken kann, sollten die dort laufenden Visualisierungen konsistent sein. Das Anwendungsfeld sollte bestimmen, wie und auf welchem Gerät Benutzer auf die Anwendung zugreifen, nicht die technischen Voraussetzungen zur Erzeugung der 3D-Grafik. Das Ziel dieser Thesis ist es, die diversen Herausforderungen zu untersuchen, die bei der Bereitstellung von konsistenten und skalierbaren Visualisierungsanwendungen auf heterogenen Plattformen eine Rolle spielen. Während wir nicht die Vielzahl an möglichen Anwendungsfällen abdecken konnten, haben wir eine repräsentative Auswahl an Rendering-Architekturen in den Kernbereichen wissenschaftliche Visualisierung, web-basierte 3D-Anwendungen, und virtuelle Filmproduktion entwickelt. Um die geforderte Qualität, Leistung, und Skalierbarkeit für verschiedene Client-Geräte und -Anzeigen zu gewährleisten, fokussieren sich unsere Architekturen auf die effiziente Nutzung und Kombination der verfügbaren Client-, Server-, und Netzwerkressourcen. Wir präsentieren innovative Lösungen, die hybrides und verteiltes Rendering als auch das Verwalten der Datensätze und Streaming der 3D-Ausgabe umfassen. Wir etablieren den Web-Browser als vielversprechende Plattform für zugängliche und portierbare Visualisierungsdienste. Um die Verwendbarkeit unserer Technologie in realitätsnahen Szenarien zu testen, haben wir mit Experten aus der Medizin und Filmindustrie zusammengearbeitet. Unsere Architekturen erreichen eine umfassende Abdeckung von Anzeige- und Rendering-Szenarien und teilen sich gleichzeitig wesentliche Komponenten und Konzepte. Sie bilden daher eine starke Grundlage für ein einheitliches System, das eine Vielzahl an Anwendungsfällen unterstützt

Developing a Preservation Strategy for the Water Filtration System of the Antiguo Acueducto de San Juan

The Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico is an organization that focuses on the historical and ecological preservation of Puerto Rico. It owns the site of the Antiguo Acueducto de San Juan, which contains a mechanical water filtration system. This team of four WPI students created a design of a working physical model of the system, as well as exhibit displays that convey the history of the site, the function of the mechanical water filtration system, and the importance of water conservation

Prediction of Satellite Shadowing in Smart Cities with Application to IoT

The combination of satellite direct reception and terrestrial 5G infrastructure is essential to guarantee coverage in satellite based-Internet of Things, mainly in smart cities where buildings can cause high power losses. In this paper, we propose an accurate and fast graphical method for predicting the satellite coverage in urban areas and SatCom on-the-move scenarios. The aim is to provide information that could be useful in the IoT network planning process, e.g., in the decision of how many terrestrial repeaters are really needed and where they should be placed. Experiments show that the shadowed areas predicted by the method correspond almost perfectly with experimental data measured from an Eutelsat satellite in the urban area of Barcelona.Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio de España TSI-020301-2009-3

Collaborative Listening and Cultural Difference in Contemporary Art

The research represented in this thesis has a relationship with my sustained interest in the subject of cultural difference that typified my earlier artistic practice. During my Ph.D. studies in Art and Visual Culture at Western University, I have advanced new perspectives on this problematic by elaborating on the potentialities of listening in dialogic and collaborative artistic practice. It comprises the discussion about the projects and activities developed within my doctoral studies, according to two main and related purposes. The first is the examination of hegemonic practices of production of meaning regarding cultural difference with a backdrop of the social, cultural and historical processes that underlie the constitution of the space of modernity in my home country, Ecuador, one of the five nations that integrate the Andean region. The second is the analysis of artistic and collaborative activities where the cultivation of modes of listening (sounding implication, acoustic presence) foregrounds subaltern agency and the production of community. These preoccupations inform the analytical core of the two essays composing my thesis. Mountains and Rivers without End––a collaborative project involving artists and scholars from Canada and Ecuador in research on the historical, social, and environmental effects of mining in the district of Portovelo and Zaruma in Ecuador. Soundscape Pasochoa––a collaborative project developed in collaboration with José Sangoquiza that expand critical perspectives on the practice of the soundscapes to focus on the conditions for subaltern cultural production in the Valle of the Chillos, Pichincha province (Ecuador). A second section involving the presentation of my practice dossier includes documentation of the art projects and activities carried out during my doctoral studies. It also provides a brief discussion of the conceptual lines of the activities I carried out while being part of the research team of Surviving Memory in Postwar El Salvador. A comprehensive documentation of these projects and activities is found at https://ulises-unda-phd.squarespace.com/

Maya Anthropological Archaeology

This volume examines the intersection between archaeologists working in the Maya area of Central American and local communities and agencies. It highlights issues of past colonial practice as well as issues involving modern tourism. The archaeologists involved in this volume attempt to suggest ways of bettering both community relationships and standards of practice for the field of Maya archaeology

Pulling focus: New perspectives on the work of Gabriel Figueroa

This thesis examines the work of Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa (1907-1997) and suggests new critical perspectives on his films and the contexts within which they were made. Despite intense debate over a number of years, auteurist notions in film studies persist and critical attention continues to centre on the director as the sole giver of meaning to a film. Consequently, scholars and critics have overlooked the cinematographer's contribution. The small amount of work that exists on Figueroa, in keeping with studies on other cinematographers, is biographical and anecdotal, concentrating on his personal life rather than his contribution to Mexican cinema. Therefore, this thesis proposes a critical evaluation of Figueroa's cinematography and advocates new analytical paradigms to examine his work. The study constructs its arguments from close visual analysis of Figueroa’s films, his unpublished autobiographical writings, letters and related documents within the theoretical and critical contexts of film and Mexican cultural studies. From an overview of how scholars have neglected cinematography in the past, the thesis deconstructs widespread assumptions that relate Figueroa to notions of the national and focuses attention on the inherent transnational economic, political and ideological relationships that informed his images. Through close analysis of eight films I will examine how Figueroa expressed such transnational contexts in relation to: sound in the nascent Mexican industry, race and class in the rural space, urban modernity and the role of the mother and Figueroa's visual critique of the Mexican bourgeoisie. To pull focus shifts attention from one object in the frame to another. This study shifts critical focus onto Figueroa's contribution to the Mexican and international film industries. In so doing, it offers new analytical standpoints from which to evaluate not only Figueroa as a giver of meaning within Mexican cinema, but to also suggest alternative critical positions from which to view cinematography and its complex ties to, and expression of, a film’s political, economic and ideological contexts

\u3cem\u3eWork\u3c/em\u3e 2005/2006

WORK is an annual publication of the Department of Architecture that documents student work in design studios and courses in the Master of Architecture and Post-Professional programs, as well as events, faculty news and student awards. It also includes abstracts of PhD dissertations defended that year. It provides an opportunity to explore the creative work of our students and is a permanent record of work in the Department

Nudging Compliance: Empowering Public Employees to Uphold Regulations and Safeguard Against Corruption

[EN]The aim of this doctoral thesis is to critically assess, from a theoretical standpoint, the employment of Nudge and Compliance techniques in the public sector as a conduit for enhancing adherence to regulations by public servants, and thereby averting corrupt practices within the public administration environment. With this, the intention is to contribute to the development of policies and practices that enhance integrity and efficiency in public management