Image processing mini manual

The intent is to provide an introduction to the image processing capabilities available at the Langley Research Center (LaRC) Central Scientific Computing Complex (CSCC). Various image processing software components are described. Information is given concerning the use of these components in the Data Visualization and Animation Laboratory at LaRC

Appearance-based image splitting for HDR display systems

High dynamic range displays that incorporate two optically-coupled image planes have recently been developed. This dual image plane design requires that a given HDR input image be split into two complementary standard dynamic range components that drive the coupled systems, therefore there existing image splitting issue. In this research, two types of HDR display systems (hardcopy and softcopy HDR display) are constructed to facilitate the study of HDR image splitting algorithm for building HDR displays. A new HDR image splitting algorithm which incorporates iCAM06 image appearance model is proposed, seeking to create displayed HDR images that can provide better image quality. The new algorithm has potential to improve image details perception, colorfulness and better gamut utilization. Finally, the performance of the new iCAM06-based HDR image splitting algorithm is evaluated and compared with widely spread luminance square root algorithm through psychophysical studies

SEAPAK user's guide, version 2.0. Volume 1: System description

The SEAPAK is a user interactive satellite data analysis package that was developed for the processing and interpretation of Nimbus-7/Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) and the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data. Significant revisions were made to version 1.0 of the guide, and the ancillary environmental data analysis module was expanded. The package continues to emphasize user friendliness and user interactive data analyses. Additionally, because the scientific goals of the ocean color research being conducted have shifted to large space and time scales, batch processing capabilities for both satellite and ancillary environmental data analyses were enhanced, thus allowing large quantities of data to be ingested and analyzed in background

Proof-to-Print Match: Effectiveness of Substrate-Corrected Colorimetric Aims in Soft Proofing

Soft proofing is an effective solution for clients and printers that decreases production cost and cycle time. However, print buyers are increasingly specifying brighter papers, which contain optical brightening agents (OBAs). One potential concern facing adopters of soft proofing systems is that they fail to consider the influence of OBA when rendering color images. Proofing systems are largely based on existing published specifications and their ICC profiles. These specifications and ICC profiles -- such as SWOP 3 and GRACoL 2006-- do not account for the influence of OBA-loaded printing papers, and therefore could cause a mismatch between the soft proof and the final print. To improve the soft proofing performance, it is important to account for the influence of OBA in printed color and in soft proofing. This research project investigated the use of the substrate-corrected colorimetric aims (SCCA) as the source ICC profile to improve proofing color accuracy. By conducting psychometric experiments and analyzing with Chi-Square statistic, the research concludes that (a) OBA causes the mismatch between the default soft proof and the OBA-loaded print; (b) source ICC profiles, built from both a fully characterized dataset and an SCCA solution, can improve color match between the soft proof and the OBA-loaded print; and (c) color match between the soft proof and the print is image-dependent

An Investigation of alternative communication methods to face to face interaction between design and client

As technology becomes increasingly more sophisticated, means and demand for digital communication are increasing. The geographical expansion of the business world has made communication alternatives critical to working together more effectively. Face to face meetings may not be possible or the most cost and time efficient approach. Also, there is a move towards working at home, telecommuting, by using electronic communication for interaction (Fitzgerald 1993). Thus, electronic correspondence is becoming essential and we are witnessing a move towards higher performance and potential for communication alternatives. Knowing the options and their appropriateness is a competitive advantage. In a information society dominated by computers and communications, value is increased by knowledge, as well as by the speed of movement of that knowledge. (Fitzgerald 1994). Graphic designers rely on strong communication with their clients. Clients\u27 needs must be expressed to the designer and designer\u27s solutions must be communicated for approval. This process is repeated at several stages: initial, revision, and final. Traditionally, when face to face meetings were not feasible, comprehensives were mailed to the client. With the current move towards electronic communication, mail manual transportation are slower and possibly more expensive than electronic correspondence. With technology today, electronic correspondence may also include interactivity, voice, and video. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate alternative methods to face to face interaction between designer and client throughout the design approval process. The goal being to determine the appropriateness of each transmission application for information interchange of different kind of images and at different stages of the approval process. Appropriateness was to be determined by equipment, economic and time factors, interoperability, security, and aesthetic and communication quality. Facsimile technology, Adobe Acrobat\u27s portable document formal files, the Internet, and videoconferencing were the vehicles analyzed as an electronic correspondence alternatives to face to face interaction. The vehicles were tested in two parts, through survey and actual transactions with graphic designers. Participants were provided questionnaires to evaluate and compare the visual and non visual aspects of each vehicle. This thesis did not test specific software or hardware, but rather the validity of the technique for interaction and transmission of data between designer and client throughout the design approval process. The test was in two parts. The first part was a survey sampling of 1 00 design sites, design firms and advertising agencies, to derive quantitative information on each transmission vehicle Based on the assessment of the appropriateness of each vehicle, determined by survey response in conjunction with background research, Facsimile technology, Adobe Acrobat, and videoconferencing were deemed appropriate for further testing. The Internet was deemed inappropriate. Three design sites were involved in comparing facsimile technology and PDF files to dye sublimation hardcopy prints. A video-conference was donated, conducted, and videotaped. Participants were asked to evaluate and compare visual and non-visual aspects of the transmitted comprehensives. The conclusion of this thesis project is that the technology is here to use for electronic alternatives to face to face interaction between clients. Some adjustments have to be made, though, before these technologies can be embraced completely. Electronic alternatives are not qualified for final approval because of lack of precision in color, lack of demonstrating production or finishing operations, and the quality of typography on monitors are extremely low causing the aesthetic quality to be extremely diminished. Second, the designers selected hardcopy as the best option for communicating the tested designs. This indicates the community is not ready to embrace electronic alternatives. This may be due to a lacking of advantage of the electronic option to deem them necessary and/or lack of comfortability with the electronic alternatives. Either reason, electronic alternatives to face to face interaction between client and designer is not, currenly, being fully accepted. As for the vehicles themselves, Adobe Acrobat was found to be a very appropriate product to use between designer and client to communicate design comprehensives for initial and revision stages. Facsimile transmissions are appropriate for initial comprehensives or for revisions of comprehensives already seen at higher quality by the client. The Internet is presently not appropriate for private one-to-one file transfer between client and designer. Its strengths do not outweigh its risks. Videoconferencing is electronic correspondence, not file transfer. It can be used in combination with mail carrier service and file transfer or alone. If the client has been sent appropriate final proofs and the conference is used for verbal and visual communication, it is appropriate for all stages. If the final proof has not been sent, it is very appropriate for initial and revision stages. In comparison to mail carriers, all electronic options transmission times were significantly faster. All transmissions were under a hour. Additionally, all alternatives except videoconferencing, were less expensive

A cockpit of multiple measures for assessing film restoration quality

In machine vision, the idea of expressing the quality of a films by a single value is very popular. Usually this value is computed by processing a set of image features with the aim of resembling as much as pos- sible a kind of human judgment of the film quality. Since human quality assessment is a complex mech- anism involving many different perceptual aspects, we believe that such approach may scarcely provide a comprehensive analysis. Especially in the field of digital movie restoration, a single score can hardly provide reliable information about the effects of the various restoring operations. For this reason we in- troduce an alternative approach, where a set of measures, describing over time basic global and local visual properties of the film frames, is computed in an unsupervised way and delivered to expert evalu- ators for checking the restoration pipeline and results. The proposed framework can be viewed as a car or airplane cockpit , whose parameters (i.e. the computed measures) are necessary to control the machine status and performance. This cockpit, which is publicly available online, would like to support the digital restoration process and its assessment

MIDAS, prototype Multivariate Interactive Digital Analysis System for large area earth resources surveys. Volume 1: System description

A third-generation, fast, low cost, multispectral recognition system (MIDAS) able to keep pace with the large quantity and high rates of data acquisition from large regions with present and projected sensots is described. The program can process a complete ERTS frame in forty seconds and provide a color map of sixteen constituent categories in a few minutes. A principle objective of the MIDAS program is to provide a system well interfaced with the human operator and thus to obtain large overall reductions in turn-around time and significant gains in throughput. The hardware and software generated in the overall program is described. The system contains a midi-computer to control the various high speed processing elements in the data path, a preprocessor to condition data, and a classifier which implements an all digital prototype multivariate Gaussian maximum likelihood or a Bayesian decision algorithm. Sufficient software was developed to perform signature extraction, control the preprocessor, compute classifier coefficients, control the classifier operation, operate the color display and printer, and diagnose operation

Solar-terrestrial data access distribution and archiving

It is recommended that a central data catalog and data access network (CDC/DAN) for solar-terrestrial research be established, initially as a NASA pilot program. The system is envisioned to be flexible and to evolve as funds permit, starting from a catalog to an access network for high-resolution data. The report describes the various functional requirements for the CDC/DAN, but does not specify the hardware and software architectures as these are constantly evolving. The importance of a steering committee, working with the CDC/DAN organization, to provide scientific guidelines for the data catalog and for data storage, access, and distribution is also stressed