Mission-critical monitoring based on surround suppression variational Retinex enhancement for non-uniform illumination images

Abstract In this letter, a surround suppression variational Retinex enhancement algorithm (SSVR) is proposed for non-uniform illumination images. Instead of a gradient module, a surround suppression mechanism is used to provide spatial information in order to constrain the total variation regularization strength of the illumination and reflectance. The proposed strategy preserves the boundary areas in the illumination so that halo artifacts are prevented. It also preserves textural details in the reflectance to prevent from illumination compression, which further contributes to the contrast enhancement in the resulting image. In addition, strong regularization strength is enforced to eliminate uneven intensities in the homogeneous areas. The split Bregman optimization algorithm is employed to solve the proposed model. Finally, after decomposition, a contrast gain is added to reflectance for contrast enhancement, and a Laplacian-based gamma correction is added to illumination for prevent color cast. The recombination of the modified reflectance and illumination become the final result. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed SSVR algorithm performs better than other methods

Gaze-Based Human-Robot Interaction by the Brunswick Model

We present a new paradigm for human-robot interaction based on social signal processing, and in particular on the Brunswick model. Originally, the Brunswick model copes with face-to-face dyadic interaction, assuming that the interactants are communicating through a continuous exchange of non verbal social signals, in addition to the spoken messages. Social signals have to be interpreted, thanks to a proper recognition phase that considers visual and audio information. The Brunswick model allows to quantitatively evaluate the quality of the interaction using statistical tools which measure how effective is the recognition phase. In this paper we cast this theory when one of the interactants is a robot; in this case, the recognition phase performed by the robot and the human have to be revised w.r.t. the original model. The model is applied to Berrick, a recent open-source low-cost robotic head platform, where the gazing is the social signal to be considered

Reports to the President

A compilation of annual reports for the 1986-1987 academic year, including a report from the President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as reports from the academic and administrative units of the Institute. The reports outline the year's goals, accomplishments, honors and awards, and future plans