Advances in Image Processing, Analysis and Recognition Technology

For many decades, researchers have been trying to make computers’ analysis of images as effective as the system of human vision is. For this purpose, many algorithms and systems have previously been created. The whole process covers various stages, including image processing, representation and recognition. The results of this work can be applied to many computer-assisted areas of everyday life. They improve particular activities and provide handy tools, which are sometimes only for entertainment, but quite often, they significantly increase our safety. In fact, the practical implementation of image processing algorithms is particularly wide. Moreover, the rapid growth of computational complexity and computer efficiency has allowed for the development of more sophisticated and effective algorithms and tools. Although significant progress has been made so far, many issues still remain, resulting in the need for the development of novel approaches

Detection and Evaluation of Clusters within Sequential Data

Motivated by theoretical advancements in dimensionality reduction techniques we use a recent model, called Block Markov Chains, to conduct a practical study of clustering in real-world sequential data. Clustering algorithms for Block Markov Chains possess theoretical optimality guarantees and can be deployed in sparse data regimes. Despite these favorable theoretical properties, a thorough evaluation of these algorithms in realistic settings has been lacking. We address this issue and investigate the suitability of these clustering algorithms in exploratory data analysis of real-world sequential data. In particular, our sequential data is derived from human DNA, written text, animal movement data and financial markets. In order to evaluate the determined clusters, and the associated Block Markov Chain model, we further develop a set of evaluation tools. These tools include benchmarking, spectral noise analysis and statistical model selection tools. An efficient implementation of the clustering algorithm and the new evaluation tools is made available together with this paper. Practical challenges associated to real-world data are encountered and discussed. It is ultimately found that the Block Markov Chain model assumption, together with the tools developed here, can indeed produce meaningful insights in exploratory data analyses despite the complexity and sparsity of real-world data.Comment: 37 pages, 12 figure

Multi-robot deployment planning in communication-constrained environments

A lo largo de los últimos años se ha podido observar el aumento del uso de equipos de robots en tareas en las cuales es imposible o poco eficiente la intervención de los humanos, e incluso que implica un cierto grado de riesgo para una persona. Por ejemplo, monitorización de entornos de difícil acceso, como podrían ser túneles, minas, etc. Éste es el tema en el que se ha enfocado el trabajo realizado durante esta tesis: la planificación del despliegue de un equipo de agentes para la monitorización de entornos.La misión de los agentes es alcanzar unas localizaciones de interés y transmitirle la información observada a una estación base estática. Ante la ausencia de una infraestructura de comunicaciones, una transmisión directa a la base es imposible. Por tanto, los agentes se deben coordinar de manera autónoma, de modo que algunos de ellos alcancen los objetivos y otros realicen la función de repetidor para retransmitir la información.Nos hemos centrado en dos líneas de investigación principales, relacionadas con dos maneras del envío de la información a la estación base. En el primer enfoque, los agentes deben mantener un enlace de comunicación con la base en el momento de alcanzar los objetivos. Con el fin de, por ejemplo, poder interactuar desde la base con un robot que ha alcanzado el objetivo. Para ello hemos desarrollado un método que obtiene las posiciones óptimas para los agentes utilizados a modo de repetidor. A continuación, hemos implementado un método de planificación de caminos de modo que los agentes pudiesen navegar el máximo tiempo posible dentro de zonas con señal. Empleando conjuntamente ambos métodos, los agentes extienden el área de cobertura de la estación base, estableciendo un enlace de comunicación desde la misma hasta los objetivos marcados.Utilizando este método, el equipo es capaz de lidiar con variaciones del entorno si la comunicación entre los agentes no se pierde. Sin embargo, los eventos tan comunes e irrelevantes para los seres humanos, como el simple cierre de una puerta, pueden llegar a ser críticos para el equipo de robots. Ya que esto podría interrumpir la comunicación entre el equipo. Por ello, hemos propuesto un método distribuido para que el equipo sea capaz de reconectarse, formando una cadena hacia un objetivo, en escenarios donde haya variaciones con respecto al mapa inicial que poseían los robots.La segunda parte de la presente tesis se ha centrado en misiones de recopilación de datos de un entorno. Aquí la comunicación con la estación base, en el instante de alcanzar un objetivo, no es necesaria y a menudo imposible. Por tanto, en este tipo de escenarios, es más eficiente que algunos agentes, llamados trabajadores, recopilen datos del entorno, y otros, denominados colectores, reúnan la información de los que trabajan para periódicamente retransmitirla a la base. De este modo tan solo los colectores realizan largos viajes a la estación base, mientras que los trabajadores emplean la mayor parte de su tiempo exclusivamente a la recopilación de datos.Primero, hemos desarrollado dos métodos para la planificación de caminos para la sincronización entre los trabajadores y colectores. El primero, muestrea el espacio de manera aleatoria, para obtener una solución lo más rápido posible. El segundo, usando FMM, es más lento, pero obtiene soluciones óptimas.Finalmente, hemos propuesto una técnica global para la misión de recopilación de datos. Este método consiste en: encontrar el mejor balance entre la cantidad de trabajadores y colectores, la mejor división del escenario en áreas de trabajo para los trabajadores, la asociación de los trabajadores para transmitir los datos recopilados a los colectores o directamente a la estación base, así como los caminos de los colectores. El método propuesto trata de encontrar la mejor solución con el fin de entregar la mayor cantidad de datos y que el tiempo de "refresco" de los mismos sea el menor posible.<br /

Hearing in dementia: defining deficits and assessing impact

The association between hearing impairment and dementia has emerged as a major public health challenge, with significant opportunities for earlier diagnosis, treatment and prevention. However, the nature of this association has not been defined. We hear with our brains, particularly within the complex soundscapes of everyday life: neurodegenerative pathologies target the auditory brain and are therefore predicted to damage hearing function early and profoundly. Here I present evidence for this proposition, based on structural and functional features of auditory brain organisation that confer vulnerability to neurodegeneration, the extensive, reciprocal interplay between ‘peripheral’ and ‘central’ hearing dysfunction, and recently characterised auditory signatures of canonical neurodegenerative dementias (Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia). In chapter 3, I examine pure tone audiometric thresholds in AD and FTD syndromes and explore the functional interplay between the auditory brain and auditory periphery by assessing the contribution of auditory cognitive factors on pure tone detection. In chapter 4, I develop this further by examining the processing of degraded speech signals, leveraging the increased importance of top-down integrative and predictive mechanisms on resolving impoverished bottom-up sensory encoding. In chapter 5, I use a more discrete test of phonological processing to focus in on a specific brain region that is an early target in logopenic aphasia, to explore the potential of auditory cognitive tests as disease specific functional biomarkers. Finally, in chapter 6, I use auditory symptom questionnaires to capture real-world hearing in daily life amongst patients with dementia as well as their carers and measure how this correlates with audiometric performance and degraded speech processing. I call for a clinical assessment of real-world hearing in these diseases that moves beyond pure tone perception to the development of novel auditory ‘cognitive stress tests’ and proximity markers for the early diagnosis of dementia and management strategies that harness retained auditory plasticity

Mechanical Engineering

The book substantially offers the latest progresses about the important topics of the "Mechanical Engineering" to readers. It includes twenty-eight excellent studies prepared using state-of-art methodologies by professional researchers from different countries. The sections in the book comprise of the following titles: power transmission system, manufacturing processes and system analysis, thermo-fluid systems, simulations and computer applications, and new approaches in mechanical engineering education and organization systems

Evolutionary Computation 2020

Intelligent optimization is based on the mechanism of computational intelligence to refine a suitable feature model, design an effective optimization algorithm, and then to obtain an optimal or satisfactory solution to a complex problem. Intelligent algorithms are key tools to ensure global optimization quality, fast optimization efficiency and robust optimization performance. Intelligent optimization algorithms have been studied by many researchers, leading to improvements in the performance of algorithms such as the evolutionary algorithm, whale optimization algorithm, differential evolution algorithm, and particle swarm optimization. Studies in this arena have also resulted in breakthroughs in solving complex problems including the green shop scheduling problem, the severe nonlinear problem in one-dimensional geodesic electromagnetic inversion, error and bug finding problem in software, the 0-1 backpack problem, traveler problem, and logistics distribution center siting problem. The editors are confident that this book can open a new avenue for further improvement and discoveries in the area of intelligent algorithms. The book is a valuable resource for researchers interested in understanding the principles and design of intelligent algorithms

PS Poster Session - All

This document includes all poster sessions at the IBPC 2018

An integrated approach to expansion deflection nozzle analysis

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DXN062709 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Full Proceedings, 2018

Full conference proceedings for the 2018 International Building Physics Association Conference hosted at Syracuse University