Classification of Marine Vessels in a Littoral Environment Using a Novel Training Database

Research into object classification has led to the creation of hundreds of databases for use as training sets in object classification algorithms. Datasets made up of thousands of cars, people, boats, faces and everyday objects exist for general classification techniques. However, no commercially available database exists for use with detailed classification and categorization of marine vessels commonly found in littoral environments. This research seeks to fill this void and is the combination of a multi-stage research endeavor designed to provide the missing marine vessel ontology. The first of the two stages performed to date introduces a novel training database called the Lister Littoral Database 900 (LLD-900) made up of over 900 high-quality images. These images consist of high-resolution color photos of marine vessels in working, active conditions taken directly from the field and edited for best possible use. Segmentation masks of each boat have been developed to separate the image into foreground and background sections. Segmentation masks that include boat wakes as part of the foreground section are the final image type included. These are included to allow for wake affordance detection algorithms rely on the small changes found in wakes made by different moving vessels. Each of these three types of images are split into their respective general classification folders, which consist of a differing number of boat categories dependent on the research stage. In the first stage of research, the initial database is tested using a simple, readily available classification algorithm known as the Nearest Neighbor Classifier. The accuracy of the database as a training set is tested and recorded and potential improvements are documented. The second stage incorporates these identified improvements and reconfigures the database before retesting the modifications using the same Nearest Neighbor Classifier along with two new methods known as the K-Nearest Neighbor Classifier and the Min-Mean Distance Classifier. These additional algorithms are also readily available and offer basic classification testing using different classification techniques. Improvements in accuracy are calculated and recorded. Finally, further improvements for a possible third iteration are discussed. The goal of this research is to establish the basis for a training database to be used with classification algorithms to increase the security of ports, harbors, shipping channels and bays. The purpose of the database is to train existing and newly created algorithms to properly identify and classify all boats found in littoral areas so that anomalous behavior detection techniques can be applied to determine when a threat is present. This research represents the completion of the initial steps in accomplishing this goal delivering a novel framework for use with littoral area marine vessel classification. The completed work is divided and presented in two separate papers written specifically for submission to and publication at appropriate conferences. When fully integrated with computer vision techniques, the database methodology and ideas presented in this thesis research will help to provide a vital new level of security in the littoral areas around the world

Avion 2005-10-04

https://commons.erau.edu/avion/2006/thumbnail.jp

University of Central Florida 1985 Self Study Southern Association of Colleges and Schools: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Sciences Self Study

University of Central Florida Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Sciences 1985 Self Study for Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The study covers philosophy of the university and the college, organizational structure, educational program, financial resources, faculty, library, student development services, physical facilities, special activities, graduate programs, research, summer terms, computer requirements, The Brevard, Daytona and South Orlando Centers and Media

A State of War: Florida from 1939 to 1945

World War II profoundly impacted Florida. The military geography of the State is essential to an understanding the war. The geostrategic concerns of place and space determined that Florida would become a statewide military base. Florida’s attributes of place such as climate and topography determined its use as a military academy hosting over two million soldiers, nearly 15 percent of the GI Army, the largest force theUS ever raised. One-in-eight Floridians went into uniform. Equally,Florida’s space on the planet made it central for both defensive and offensive strategies. The Second World War was a war of movement, and Florida was a major jump off point forUSforce projection world-wide, especially of air power. Florida’s demography facilitated its use as a base camp for the assembly and engagement of this military power. In 1940, less than two percent of the US population lived in Florida, a quiet, barely populated backwater of the United States.[1] But owing to its critical place and space, over the next few years it became a 65,000 square mile training ground, supply dump, and embarkation site vital to the US war effort. Because of its place astride some of the most important sea lanes in the Atlantic World,Florida was the scene of one of the few Western Hemisphere battles of the war. The militarization ofFloridabegan long before Pearl Harbor. The pre-war buildup conformed to theUSstrategy of the war. The strategy of theUS was then (and remains today) one of forward defense: harden the frontier, then take the battle to the enemy, rather than fight them inNorth America. The policy of “Europe First,” focused the main US war effort on the defeat of Hitler’sGermany, evaluated to be the most dangerous enemy. In Florida were established the military forces requiring the longest time to develop, and most needed to defeat the Axis. Those were a naval aviation force for sea-borne hostilities, a heavy bombing force for reducing enemy industrial states, and an aerial logistics train for overseas supply of expeditionary campaigns. The unique Florida coastline made possible the seaborne invasion training demanded for USvictory. The civilian population was employed assembling mass-produced first-generation container ships, while Floridahosted casualties, Prisoners-of-War, and transient personnel moving between the Atlantic and Pacific. By the end of hostilities and the lifting of Unlimited Emergency, officially on December 31, 1946, Floridahad become a transportation nexus. Florida accommodated a return of demobilized soldiers, a migration of displaced persons, and evolved into a modern veterans’ colonia. It was instrumental in fashioning the modern US military, while remaining a center of the active National Defense establishment. Those are the themes of this work. [1] US Census of Florida 1940. Table 4 – Race, By Nativity and Sex, For the State. 14

Air Force Institute of Technology Research Report 2013

This report summarizes the research activities of the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management. It describes research interests and faculty expertise; lists student theses/dissertations; identifies research sponsors and contributions; and outlines the procedures for contacting the school. Included in the report are: faculty publications, conference presentations, consultations, and funded research projects. Research was conducted in the areas of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Electro-Optics, Computer Engineering and Computer Science, Systems Engineering and Management, Operational Sciences, Mathematics, Statistics and Engineering Physics