Time Series Analysis and Classification with State-Space Models for Industrial Processes and the Life Sciences

In this thesis the use of state-space models for analysis and classification of time series data, gathered from industrial manufacturing processes and the life sciences, is investigated. To overcome hitherto unsolved problems in both application domains the temporal behavior of the data is captured using state-space models. Industrial laser welding processes are monitored with a high speed camera and the appearance of unusual events in the image sequences correlates with errors on the produced part. Thus, novel classification frameworks are developed to robustly detect these unusual events with a small false positive rate. For classifier learning, class labels are by default only available for the complete image sequence, since scanning the sequences for anomalies is expensive. The first framework combines appearance based features and state-space models for the unusual event detection in image sequences. For the first time, ideas adapted from face recognition are used for the automatic dimension reduction of images recorded from laser welding processes. The state-space model is trained incrementally and can learn from erroneous sequences without the need of manually labeling the position of the error event within sequences. %The limitation to weakly labeled data helps to reduce the labeling effort. In addition, a second framework for the object-based detection of sputter events in laser welding processes is developed. The framework successfully combines for the first time temporal change detection, object tracking and trajectory classification for the detection of weak sputter events. %This is the first time that object tracking is successfully applied to automatic sputter detection. For the application in the life sciences the improvement and further development of data analysis methods for Single Molecule Fluorescence Spectroscopy (SMFS) is considered. SMFS experiments allow to study biochemical processes on a single molecule basis. The single molecule is excited with a laser and the photons which are emitted thereon by fluorescence contain important information about conformational changes of the molecule. Advanced statistical analysis techniques are necessary to infer state changes of the molecule from changes in the photon emissions. By using state-space models, it is possible to extract information from recorded photon streams which would be lost with traditional analysis techniques

Classification of Occluded Objects using Fast Recurrent Processing

Recurrent neural networks are powerful tools for handling incomplete data problems in computer vision, thanks to their significant generative capabilities. However, the computational demand for these algorithms is too high to work in real time, without specialized hardware or software solutions. In this paper, we propose a framework for augmenting recurrent processing capabilities into a feedforward network without sacrificing much from computational efficiency. We assume a mixture model and generate samples of the last hidden layer according to the class decisions of the output layer, modify the hidden layer activity using the samples, and propagate to lower layers. For visual occlusion problem, the iterative procedure emulates feedforward-feedback loop, filling-in the missing hidden layer activity with meaningful representations. The proposed algorithm is tested on a widely used dataset, and shown to achieve 2$\times$ improvement in classification accuracy for occluded objects. When compared to Restricted Boltzmann Machines, our algorithm shows superior performance for occluded object classification.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1409.8576 by other author

Cumulative object categorization in clutter

In this paper we present an approach based on scene- or part-graphs for geometrically categorizing touching and occluded objects. We use additive RGBD feature descriptors and hashing of graph configuration parameters for describing the spatial arrangement of constituent parts. The presented experiments quantify that this method outperforms our earlier part-voting and sliding window classification. We evaluated our approach on cluttered scenes, and by using a 3D dataset containing over 15000 Kinect scans of over 100 objects which were grouped into general geometric categories. Additionally, color, geometric, and combined features were compared for categorization tasks

Action Recognition in Videos: from Motion Capture Labs to the Web

This paper presents a survey of human action recognition approaches based on visual data recorded from a single video camera. We propose an organizing framework which puts in evidence the evolution of the area, with techniques moving from heavily constrained motion capture scenarios towards more challenging, realistic, "in the wild" videos. The proposed organization is based on the representation used as input for the recognition task, emphasizing the hypothesis assumed and thus, the constraints imposed on the type of video that each technique is able to address. Expliciting the hypothesis and constraints makes the framework particularly useful to select a method, given an application. Another advantage of the proposed organization is that it allows categorizing newest approaches seamlessly with traditional ones, while providing an insightful perspective of the evolution of the action recognition task up to now. That perspective is the basis for the discussion in the end of the paper, where we also present the main open issues in the area.Comment: Preprint submitted to CVIU, survey paper, 46 pages, 2 figures, 4 table