Evaluation of Image Based Techniques for Wildfire Detection and Fuel Mapping

Few events can cause the catastrophic impact to ecology, infrastructure, and human safety of a wildland fire along the wildland urban interface. The suppression of natural wildland fires over the past decade has caused a buildup of dry, dead surface fuels: a condition that, coupled with the right weather conditions, can cause large destructive wildfires that are capable of threatening both ancient tree stands and manmade infrastructure. Firefighters use fire danger models to determine staffing needs on high fire risk days; however models are only as effective as the spatial and temporal density of their observations. OKFIRE, an Oklahoma initiative created by a partnership between Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma, has proven that fire danger assessments close to the fire � both geographically and temporally � can give firefighters a significant increase in their situational awareness while fighting a wildland fire.This paper investigates several possible solutions for a small Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) which could gather information useful for detecting ground fires and constructing fire danger maps. Multiple fire detection and fuel mapping programs utilize satellites, manned aircraft, and large UAS equipped with hyperspectral sensors to gather useful information. Their success provides convincing proof of the utility that could be gained from low-altitude UAS gathering information at the exact time and place firefighters and land managers are interested in. Close proximity, both geographically and operationally, to the end can reduce latency times below what could ever be possible with satellite observation.This paper expands on recent advances in computer vision, photogrammetry, and infrared and color imagery to develop a framework for a next-generation UAS which can assess fire danger and aid firefighters in real time as they observe, contain, or extinguish wildland fires. It also investigates the impact information gained by this system could have on pre-fire risk assessments through the development of very high resolution fuel maps.Mechanical & Aerospace Engineerin

Technology transfer: Transportation

The application of NASA derived technology in solving problems related to highways, railroads, and other rapid systems is described. Additional areas/are identified where space technology may be utilized to meet requirements related to waterways, law enforcement agencies, and the trucking and recreational vehicle industries

Wide area detection system: Conceptual design study

An integrated sensor for traffic surveillance on mainline sections of urban freeways is described. Applicable imaging and processor technology is surveyed and the functional requirements for the sensors and the conceptual design of the breadboard sensors are given. Parameters measured by the sensors include lane density, speed, and volume. The freeway image is also used for incident diagnosis

Automatic Fire Detection Using Computer Vision Techniques for UAV-based Forest Fire Surveillance

Due to their rapid response capability and maneuverability, extended operational range, and improved personnel safety, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with vision-based systems have great potentials for forest fire surveillance and detection. Over the last decade, it has shown an increasingly strong demand for UAV-based forest fire detection systems, as they can avoid many drawbacks of other forest fire detection systems based on satellites, manned aerial vehicles, and ground equipments. Despite this, the existing UAV-based forest fire detection systems still possess numerous practical issues for their use in operational conditions. In particular, the successful forest fire detection remains difficult, given highly complicated and non-structured environments of forest, smoke blocking the fire, motion of cameras mounted on UAVs, and analogues of flame characteristics. These adverse effects can seriously cause either false alarms or alarm failures. In order to successfully execute missions and meet their corresponding performance criteria and overcome these ever-increasing challenges, investigations on how to reduce false alarm rates, increase the probability of successful detection, and enhance adaptive capabilities to various circumstances are strongly demanded to improve the reliability and accuracy of forest fire detection system. According to the above-mentioned requirements, this thesis concentrates on the development of reliable and accurate forest fire detection algorithms which are applicable to UAVs. These algorithms provide a number of contributions, which include: (1) a two-layered forest fire detection method is designed considering both color and motion features of fire; it is expected to greatly improve the forest fire detection performance, while significantly reduce the motion of background caused by the movement of UAV; (2) a forest fire detection scheme is devised combining both visual and infrared images for increasing the accuracy and reliability of forest fire alarms; and (3) a learning-based fire detection approach is developed for distinguishing smoke (which is widely considered as an early signal of fire) from other analogues and achieving early stage fire detection

Image editing and interaction tools for visual expression

Digital photography is becoming extremely common in our daily life. However, images are difficult to edit and interact with. From a user's perspective, it is important to interact freely with the images on his/her smartphone or ipad. In this thesis we develop several image editing and interaction systems with this idea in mind. We aim for creating visual models with pre-computed internal structures such that interaction is readily supported. We demonstrate that such interactable models, driven by a user's hand, can render powerful visual expressiveness, and make static pixel arrays much more fun to play with. The first system harnesses the editing power of vector graphics. We convert raster images into a vector representation using Loop's subdivision surfaces. An image is represented by a multi-resolution feature-preserving sparse control mesh, with which image editing can be done at semantic level. A user can easily put a smile on a face image, or adjust the level of scene abstractness through a simple slider. The second system allows one to insert an object from image into a new scene. The key is to correct the shading on the object such that it goes consistently with the scene. Unlike traditional approach, we use a simple shape to capture gross shading effects and a set of shading detail images to account for visual complexities. The high-frequency nature of these detail images allows a moderate range of interactive composition effects without causing alarming visual artifacts. The third system is on video clips instead of a single image. We proposed a fully automated algorithm to creat

Emergency Evacuation Software Model For Simulation Of Physical Changes

Public space such as schools, cinemas, shopping malls, etc. must have an emergency evacuation system in place. Such places are also required to follow certain regulations and protocols for emergency evacuation to assure the safety of their occupants inside from any unpredictable incident. For nearly two decades, companies/organizations are using simulation models/software for evacuation planning. Researchers are working on these software models to improve the efficiency using latest algorithms. This thesis focuses on creating a base software model of evacuation systems for 3D indoor environments to simulate physical changes such as retractable chairs, movable walls etc., to evaluate their effectiveness before committing to those changes. This research tries to address various flaws and shortcomings of previous software. We are using tools like Unity 3D and Autodesk Maya to simulate suggested changes. It provides planners as well as researchers a new perspective to work on new recommended physical changes to design public venues

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder globally, affecting approximately 50 million people of all ages. It is one of the oldest diseases described in literature from remote ancient civilizations 2000-3000 years ago. Despite its long history and wide spread, epilepsy is still surrounded by myth and prejudice, which can only be overcome with great difficulty. The term epilepsy is derived from the Greek verb epilambanein, which by itself means to be seized and to be overwhelmed by surprise or attack. Therefore, epilepsy is a condition of getting over, seized, or attacked. The twelve very interesting chapters of this book cover various aspects of epileptology from the history and milestones of epilepsy as a disease entity, to the most recent advances in understanding and diagnosing epilepsy

Stylised procedural animation

This thesis develops a stylised procedural paradigm for computer graphics animation. Cartoon effects animations - stylised representations of natural phenomena - have presented a long-standing, difficult challenge to computer animators. We propose a framework for achieving the intricacy of effects motion with minimal animator intervention.Our approach is to construct cartoon effects by simulating the hand-drawing process through synthetic, computational means. We create a system which emulates the stylish appearance, movements of cartoon effects in both 2D and 3D environments. Our computational models achieve this by capturing the essential characteristics common to all cartoon effects: structure modelling, dynamic controlling and stylised rendering.To validate our framework, we have implemented a cartoon effects system for a range of effects including water effects, fire, smoke, rain and snow. Each effect model has its own static structure such as how the different parts are related temporarily. The flexibility of our approach is suggested most evidently by the high-level controls on shape, colour, timing and rendering on the effects. Like their hand-drawn counterparts, they move consistently while retaining the hand-crafted look.Since the movements of cartoon effects are animated procedurally, their detailed motions need not be keyframed. This thesis therefore demonstrates a powerful approach to computer animation in which the animator plays the role of a high level controller, rather than the more conventional hand-drawing slave. Our work not only achieves cartoon effects animation of un-precedented complexity, but it also provides an interesting experimental domain for related research disciplines toward more creative and expressive image synthesis in animation