147 research outputs found

    3D Information Technologies in Cultural Heritage Preservation and Popularisation

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    This Special Issue of the journal Applied Sciences presents recent advances and developments in the use of digital 3D technologies to protect and preserve cultural heritage. While most of the articles focus on aspects of 3D scanning, modeling, and presenting in VR of cultural heritage objects from buildings to small artifacts and clothing, part of the issue is devoted to 3D sound utilization in the cultural heritage field

    On-line Time Warping of Human Motion Sequences

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    Some application areas require motions to be time warped on-line as a motion is captured, aligning a partially captured motion to a complete prerecorded motion. For example movement training applications for dance and medical procedures, require on-line time warping for analysing and visually feeding back the accuracy of human motions as they are being performed. Additionally, real-time production techniques such as virtual production, in camera visual effects and the use of avatars in live stage performances, require on-line time warping to align virtual character performances to a live performer. The work in this thesis first addresses a research gap in the measurement of the alignment of two motions, proposing approaches based on rank correlation and evaluating them against existing distance based approaches to measuring motion similarity. The thesis then goes onto propose and evaluate novel methods for on-line time warping, which plot alignments in a forward direction and utilise forecasting and local continuity constraint techniques. Current studies into measuring the similarity of motions focus on distance based metrics for measuring the similarity of the motions to support motion recognition applications, leaving a research gap regarding the effectiveness of similarity metrics bases on correlation and the optimal metrics for measuring the alignment of two motions. This thesis addresses this research gap by comparing the performance of variety of similarity metrics based on distance and correlation, including novel combinations of joint parameterisation and correlation methods. The ability of each metric to measure both the similarity and alignment of two motions is independently assessed. This work provides a detailed evaluation of a variety of different approaches to using correlation within a similarity metric, testing their performance to determine which approach is optimal and comparing their performance against established distance based metrics. The results show that a correlation based metric, in which joints are parameterised using displacement vectors and correlation is measured using Kendall Tau rank correlation, is the optimal approach for measuring the alignment between two motions. The study also showed that similarity metrics based on correlation are better at measuring the alignment of two motions, which is important in motion blending and style transfer applications as well as evaluating the performance of time warping algorithms. It also showed that metrics based on distance are better at measuring the similarity of two motions, which is more relevant to motion recognition and classification applications. A number of approaches to on-line time warping have been proposed within existing research, that are based on plotting an alignment path backwards from a selected end-point within the complete motion. While these approaches work for discrete applications, such as recognising a motion, their lack of monotonic constraint between alignment of each frame, means these approaches do not support applications that require an alignment to be maintained continuously over a number of frames. For example applications involving continuous real-time visualisation, feedback or interaction. To solve this problem, a number of novel on-line time warping algorithms, based on forward plotting, motion forecasting and local continuity constraints are proposed and evaluated by applying them to human motions. Two benchmarks standards for evaluating the performance of on-line time warping algorithms are established, based on UTW time warping and compering the resulting alignment path with that produced by DTW. This work also proposes a novel approach to adapting existing local continuity constraints to a forward plotting approach. The studies within this thesis demonstrates that these time warping approaches are able to produce alignments of sufficient quality to support applications that require an alignment to be maintained continuously. The on-line time warping algorithms proposed in this study can align a previously recorded motion to a user in real-time, as they are performing the same action or an opposing action recorded at the same time as the motion being align. This solution has a variety of potential application areas including: visualisation applications, such as aligning a motion to a live performer to facilitate in camera visual effects or a live stage performance with a virtual avatar; motion feedback applications such as dance training or medical rehabilitation; and interaction applications such as working with Cobots

    Development and clinical translation of optical and software methods for endomicroscopic imaging

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    Endomicroscopy is an emerging technology that aims to improve clinical diagnostics by allowing for in vivo microscopy in difficult to reach areas of the body. This is most commonly achieved by using coherent fibre bundles to relay light for illumination and imaging to and from the area under investigation. Endomicroscopy’s attraction for researchers and clinicians is two-fold: on the one hand, its use can reduce the invasiveness of a diagnostic procedure by removing the need for biopsies; On the other hand, it allows for structural and functional in vivo imaging. Endomicroscopic images acquired through optical fibre bundles exhibit artefacts that deteriorate image quality and contrast. This thesis aims to improve an existing endomicroscopy imaging system by exploring two methods that mitigate these artefacts. The first, software-based method takes several processing steps from literature and implements them in an existing endomicroscopy device with a focus on real-time application to enable clinical use, after image quality was found to be inadequate without further processing. A contribution to the field is that two different approaches are implemented and compared in quantitative and qualitative means that have not been compared directly in this manner before. This first attempt at improving endomicroscopy image quality relies solely on digital image processing methods and is developed with a strong focus on real-time applicability in clinical use. Both approaches are compared on pre-clinical and clinical human imaging data. The second method targets the effect of inter-core coupling, which reduces contrast in fibre images. A parallelised confocal imaging method is developed in which a sequence of images is acquired while selectively illuminating groups of fibre cores through the use of a spatial light modulator. A bespoke algorithm creates a composite image in a final processing step. In doing so, unwanted light is detected and removed from the final image. This method is shown to reduce the negative impact of inter-core coupling on image contrast on small imaging targets, while no benefit was found in large, scattering samples

    Authoring Tools for Augmented Reality Scenario Based Training Experiences

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    Augmented Reality\u27s (AR) scope and capabilities have grown considerably in the last few years. AR applications can be run across devices such as phones, wearables, and head-mounted displays (HMDs). The increasing research and commercial efforts in HMDs capabilities allow end users to map a 3D environment and interact with virtual objects that can respond to the physical aspects of the scene. Within this context, AR is an ideal format for in-situ training scenarios. However, building such AR scenarios requires proficiency in game engine development environments and programming expertise. These difficulties can make it challenging for domain experts to create training content in AR. To combat this problem, this thesis presents strategies and guidelines for building authoring tools to generate scenario-based training experiences in AR. The authoring tools were built leveraging concepts from the 3D user interfaces and interaction techniques literature. We found from early research in the field and our experimentation that scenario and object behavior authoring are substantial aspects needed to create a training experience by an author. This work also presents a technique to author object component behaviors with high usability scores, followed by an analysis of the different aspects of authoring object component behaviors across AR, VR, and Desktop. User studies were run to evaluate authoring strategies, and the results provide insights into future directions for building AR/VR immersive authoring tools. Finally, we discuss how this knowledge can influence the development, guidelines, and strategies in the direction of a more compelling set of tools to author augmented reality SBT experiences

    UAV or Drones for Remote Sensing Applications in GPS/GNSS Enabled and GPS/GNSS Denied Environments

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    The design of novel UAV systems and the use of UAV platforms integrated with robotic sensing and imaging techniques, as well as the development of processing workflows and the capacity of ultra-high temporal and spatial resolution data, have enabled a rapid uptake of UAVs and drones across several industries and application domains.This book provides a forum for high-quality peer-reviewed papers that broaden awareness and understanding of single- and multiple-UAV developments for remote sensing applications, and associated developments in sensor technology, data processing and communications, and UAV system design and sensing capabilities in GPS-enabled and, more broadly, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-enabled and GPS/GNSS-denied environments.Contributions include:UAV-based photogrammetry, laser scanning, multispectral imaging, hyperspectral imaging, and thermal imaging;UAV sensor applications; spatial ecology; pest detection; reef; forestry; volcanology; precision agriculture wildlife species tracking; search and rescue; target tracking; atmosphere monitoring; chemical, biological, and natural disaster phenomena; fire prevention, flood prevention; volcanic monitoring; pollution monitoring; microclimates; and land use;Wildlife and target detection and recognition from UAV imagery using deep learning and machine learning techniques;UAV-based change detection

    The 1st International Electronic Conference on Chemical Sensors and Analytical Chemistry

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    The 1st International Electronic Conference on Chemical Sensors and Analytical Chemistry was held on 1–15 July 2021. The scope of this online conference was to gather experts that are well-known worldwide who are currently working in chemical sensor technologies and to provide an online forum for the presention and discussion of new results. Throughout this event, topics of interest included, but were not limited to, the following: electrochemical devices and sensors; optical chemical sensors; mass-sensitive sensors; materials for chemical sensing; nano- and micro-technologies for sensing; chemical assays and validation; chemical sensor applications; analytical methods; gas sensors and apparatuses; electronic noses; electronic tongues; microfluidic devices; lab-on-a-chip; single-molecule sensing; nanosensors; and medico-diagnostic testing

    Money & Trust in Digital Society, Bitcoin and Stablecoins in ML enabled Metaverse Telecollaboration

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    We present a state of the art and positioning book, about Digital society tools, namely; Web3, Bitcoin, Metaverse, AI/ML, accessibility, safeguarding and telecollaboration. A high level overview of Web3 technologies leads to a description of blockchain, and the Bitcoin network is specifically selected for detailed examination. Suitable components of the extended Bitcoin ecosystem are described in more depth. Other mechanisms for native digital value transfer are described, with a focus on `money'. Metaverse technology is over-viewed, primarily from the perspective of Bitcoin and extended reality. Bitcoin is selected as the best contender for value transfer in metaverses because of it's free and open source nature, and network effect. Challenges and risks of this approach are identified. A cloud deployable virtual machine based technology stack deployment guide with a focus on cybersecurity best practice can be downloaded from GitHub to experiment with the technologies. This deployable lab is designed to inform development of secure value transaction, for small and medium sized companies

    De/Mystifying smartphone-video through VilĂ©m Flusser’s quanta

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    Videos made on smartphones are recognised in popular culture in a manner that is not reciprocated in media theory and fine art practice. The difference between smartphone-video and other film and video technology has been obscured within post-medium contexts such as “moving image,” where an ideological indifference creates new physical and psychological barriers between video ‘user’ and moving image ‘artist.’ This thesis considers smartphone-video as a significantly different gesture to other moving image technologies, which I raise through media theorist VilĂ©m Flusser’s interpretation of “quanta,” and his interest in ‘the gesture of video’ as a “quantised phenomenon.” I approach these ideas through my own smartphone-videos, which are initially influenced by principles of Peter Gidal’s structural/materialist filmmaking. By readdressing Gidal’s methods of non-illusionist demystification, smartphone-video can be considered a very different gesture to filmmaking. Film becomes stable, causal, and Newtonian; while video becomes unstable, probable, and quantum. Developments in digital imaging and computer processors highlight such quantum mechanics, which although complex, function in ways classical physics cannot explain. This thesis proposes how Flusser’s concept of quanta can account for the unstable qualities found in smartphone-video’s manner of operation when de/mystified through principles of Gidal’s structural/materialist filmmaking. Such observations consider video's quantum instability through AI driven automation and user-friendly features that enable “quantum dialogues” between user and machine as decision-makers. Observing smartphone-videos as non-polarised quantum dialogues through improvisation in the act of recording, expresses Flusser’s theory of gestures, and elucidates his proto-decolonial efforts against “universal phenomena.” The gesture of smartphone-video encompasses much more than I had imagined, and subsequently — with the aid of Karen Barad — considerations are made to a de/mystification of video’s gesture, operating through proximity in an intra-subjective network of user(s)

    Reimagining Disruptive Technologies: The User Experience of Netflix and Pokémon GO in Australia

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    The user experience of disruptive technologies is insufficiently understood by industry and academia as discourse is typically centered around the impact of new technologies on existing services, business models, and their respective industries. This thesis seeks to address this gap in knowledge and develops an original framework, the Disruption-Experience Model (D-E Model), for identifying and describing user experiences of technologies that have been perceived as disruptive. The D-E model involves three interlinking concepts: stabilisation, which is a sustaining experience whereby thoughts, feelings and practices are reinforced; destabilisation, which is a dysfunctional experience whereby thoughts, feelings and practices are undermined; and transformation, which is a novel experience whereby thoughts, feelings and practices are dramatically shifting. The methodology for the thesis draws on principles from ethnography, and 28 participants were recruited from the city of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia for the investigation of two case studies: the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service Netflix and the augmented reality (AR) mobile gaming application PokĂ©mon GO (PoGO). By observing online discussions, talking to Netflix and PoGO users directly through interviews and participating in walk-alongs, I found that the user experience diverges from some of the established perceptions identified from the literature and public discourse. Netflix has been perceived as a dramatic disruption for the Australian television industry, but in terms of the user experience it was mostly a continuation of existing viewing practices, with internet piracy as the middle-man. PoGO was perceived as disruptive in different ways by different people, with game changing implications for the AR, marketing and mobile gaming industries. However, users were less interested in the innovative aspects of the game and more excited about experiencing PokĂ©mon in a new way and being part of a historical, cultural moment. This thesis provides nuance to conversations of disruptive technologies by including the point of view of the user, and the D-E Model can be useful for understanding experiences of other technologies—or potential disruptions—in the future
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