Understanding Target Trajectory Behavior: A Dynamic Scene Modeling Approach

[Resumen] El análisis de comportamiento humano es uno de los campos más activos en la rama de visión por computador. Con el incremento de cámaras, especialmente en entornos controlados tales como aeropuertos, estaciones de tren o museos, se hace cada vez más necesario el uso de sistemas automáticos que puedan catalogar la información proporcionada. En el caso de entornos concurridos, es muy difícil el poder distinguir el comportamiento de personas en base a sus gestos, debido a la falta de visión de su cuerpo al completo. Por ende, el análisis de comportamiento se realiza en base a sus trayectorias, añadiendo técnicas de razonamiento de alto nivel para ulilizar dicha información en múltiples aplicaciones, tales como la video vigilancia o el análisis de tráfico. El propósito de esta investigación es el desarrollo de un sistema totalmente automático para el análisis de comportamiento de las personas. Por una parte, se presentan dos sistemas para el seguimiento de múltiples objetivos, así como un sistema novedoso para la re-identificación de personas, con la intención de detectar todo objeto de interés en la escena, devolviendo sus trayectorias como salida. Por otra parte, se presenta un sistema novedoso para el análisis de comportamiento basado en información del entorno de la escena. Está basado en la idea que que toda persona,cuando intenta llegar a un cierto lugar, tiende a seguir el mismo camino que suele utilizar la mayoría de la gente. Se presentan una serie de métricas para la detección de movimientos anómalos, haciendo que este método sea ideal para su utilización en sistemas de tiempo real.[Abstract] Human behavior analysis is one of the most active computer vision research fields. As the number of cameras are increased, especially in restricted environments, like airports, train stations or museums, the need of automatic systems that can catalog the information provided by the cameras becomes crucial. In the case of crowded scenes, it is very difficult to distinguish people behavior because of the lack of visual contact of the whole body. Thus, behavior analysis remains in the evaluation of trajectories, adding high-level knowledge approaches in order to use that information in several applications like video surveillance or traffic analysis. The proposal of this research is the design of a fully-automatic human behavior system from a distance. On the one hand, two different multiple-target tracking methods and a target re-identification procedure are presented to detect every target in the scene, returning their trajectories as output. On the other hand, a novel behavior analysis system, which includes information about the environment, is provided. It is based in the idea that every person tries to reach a goal in the scene following the same path the majority of people should use. An extremely fast abnormal behavior metric is presented, providing our method with the capabilities needed to be used in real-time scenarios[Resumo] A análise do comportamento humano é un dos campos máis activos na rama da visión por computadora. Co incremento de cámaras, especialmente en entornos controlados tales coma aeroportos, estacións de tren ou museos, faise cada vez máis necesario o uso de sistemas automáticos que poidan catalogar a información proporcionada. No caso de entornos concurridos, é moi complicado de poder distinguir o comportamento de persoas dacordo cos seus xestos, debido á falta dunha visión completa do corpo do suxeito. Por tanto, a análise de comportamento tende a realizarse en base á traxectoria, engadindo técnicas de razoamento de alto nivel para utilizar dita información en diversas aplicacións, tales coma a video vixiancia ou a análise de tráfico. O propósito desta investigación é o desenrolo dun sistema totalmente automático para a análise do comportamento das persoas. Por unha parte, preséntanse dous sistemas para o seguimento de múltiples obxectivos, así coma un sistema novidoso para a re-identificación de persoas, coa intención de detectar todo obxecto de interés na escena, devolvendo as traxectorias asociadas como saída. Por outra parte, preséntase un sistema novidoso para a análise de comportamente baseada na informaci ón do entorno da escena. Está baseado na idea de que toda persoa, cando intenta acadar un certo luegar, tende a seguir o mesmo cami~no que xeralmente usa a maioría da xente. Preséntanse unha serie de métricas para a detección de movementos anómalos, facendo posible que este método poida ser utilizado en sistemas de tempo real

Smart video surveillance of pedestrians : fixed, aerial, and multi-camera methods

Crowd analysis from video footage is an active research topic in the field of computer vision. Crowds can be analaysed using different approaches, depending on their characteristics. Furthermore, analysis can be performed from footage obtained through different sources. Fixed CCTV cameras can be used, as well as cameras mounted on moving vehicles. To begin, a literature review is provided, where research works in the the fields of crowd analysis, as well as object and people tracking, occlusion handling, multi-view and sensor fusion, and multi-target tracking are analyses and compared, and their advantages and limitations highlighted. Following that, the three contributions of this thesis are presented: in a first study, crowds will be classified based on various cues (i.e. density, entropy), so that the best approaches to further analyse behaviour can be selected; then, some of the challenges of individual target tracking from aerial video footage will be tackled; finally, a study on the analysis of groups of people from multiple cameras is proposed. The analysis entails the movements of people and objects in the scene. The idea is to track as many people as possible within the crowd, and to be able to obtain knowledge from their movements, as a group, and to classify different types of scenes. An additional contribution of this thesis, are two novel datasets: on the one hand, a first set to test the proposed aerial video analysis methods; on the other, a second to validate the third study, that is, with groups of people recorded from multiple overlapping cameras performing different actions

“Design, Development and Characterization of a Thermal Sensor Brick System for Modular Robotics

This thesis presents the work on thermal imaging sensor brick (TISB) system for modular robotics. The research demonstrates the design, development and characterization of the TISB system. The TISB system is based on the design philosophy of sensor bricks for modular robotics. In under vehicle surveillance for threat detection, which is a target application of this work we have demonstrated the advantages of the TISB system over purely vision-based systems. We have highlighted the advantages of the TISB system as an illumination invariant threat detection system for detecting hidden threat objects in the undercarriage of a car. We have compared the TISB system to the vision sensor brick system and the mirror on a stick. We have also illustrated the operational capability of the system on the SafeBot under vehicle robot to acquire and transmit the data wirelessly. The early designs of the TISB system, the evolution of the designs and the uniformity achieved while maintaining the modularity in building the different sensor bricks; the visual, the thermal and the range sensor brick is presented as part of this work. Each of these sensor brick systems designed and implemented at the Imaging Robotics and Intelligent Systems (IRIS) laboratory consist of four major blocks: Sensing and Image Acquisition Block, Pre-Processing and Fusion Block, Communication Block, and Power Block. The Sensing and Image Acquisition Block is to capture images or acquire data. The Pre-Processing and Fusion Block is to work on the acquired images or data. The Communication Block is for transferring data between the sensor brick and the remote host computer. The Power Block is to maintain power supply to the entire brick. The modular sensor bricks are self-sufficient plug and play systems. The SafeBot under vehicle robot designed and implemented at the IRIS laboratory has two tracked platforms one on each side with a payload bay area in the middle. Each of these tracked platforms is a mobility brick based on the same design philosophy as the modular sensor bricks. The robot can carry one brick at a time or even multiple bricks at the same time. The contributions of this thesis are: (1) designing and developing the hardware implementation of the TISB system, (2) designing and developing the software for the TISB system, and (3) characterizing the TISB system, where this characterization of the system is the major contribution of this thesis. The analysis of the thermal sensor brick system provides the user and future designers with sufficient information on parameters to be considered to make the right choice for future modifications, the kind of applications the TISB could handle and the load that the different blocks of the TISB system could manage. Under vehicle surveillance for threat detection, perimeter / area surveillance, scouting, and improvised explosive device (IED) detection using a car-mounted system are some of the applications that have been identified for this system

A new classification approach based on geometrical model for human detection in images

In recent years, object detection and classification has gained more attention, thus, there are several human object detection algorithms being used to locate and recognize human objects in images. The research of image processing and analysing based on human shape is a hot topic due to its wide applicability in real applications. In this research, we present a new shape-based classification approach to categorise the detected object as human or non-human in images. The classification in this approach is based on applying a geometrical model which contains a set of parameters related to the object’s upper portion. Based on the result of these geometric parameters, our approach can simply classify the detected object as human or non-human. In general, the classification process of this new approach is based on generating a geometrical model by observing unique geometrical relations between the upper portion shape points (neck, head, shoulders) of humans, this observation is based on analysis of the change in the histogram of the x values coordinates for human upper portion shape. To present the changing of X coordinate values we have used histograms with mathematical smoothing functions to avoid small angles, as the result we observed four parameters for human objects to be used in building the classifier, by applying the four parameters of the geometrical model and based on the four parameters results, our classification approach can classify the human object from another object. The proposed approach has been tested and compared with some of the machine learning approaches such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Support Vector Machine (SVM) Model, and a famous type of decision tree called Random Forest, by using 358 different images for several objects obtained from INRIA dataset (set of human and non-human as an object in digital images). From the comparison and testing result between the proposed approach and the machine learning approaches in term of accuracy performance, we indicate that the proposed approach achieved the highest accuracy rate (93.85%), with the lowest miss detection rate (11.245%) and false discovery rate (9.34%). The result achieved from the testing and comparison shows the efficiency of this presented approach

Forensic Medicine

Forensic medicine is a continuously evolving science that is constantly being updated and improved, not only as a result of technological and scientific advances (which bring almost immediate repercussions) but also because of developments in the social and legal spheres. This book contains innovative perspectives and approaches to classic topics and problems in forensic medicine, offering reflections about the potential and limits of emerging areas in forensic expert research; it transmits the experience of some countries in the domain of cutting-edge expert intervention, and shows how research in other fields of knowledge may have very relevant implications for this practice

Learning by correlation for computer vision applications: from Kernel methods to deep learning

Learning to spot analogies and differences within/across visual categories is an arguably powerful approach in machine learning and pattern recognition which is directly inspired by human cognition. In this thesis, we investigate a variety of approaches which are primarily driven by correlation and tackle several computer vision applications

Future Transportation

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with transportation activities account for approximately 20 percent of all carbon dioxide (co2) emissions globally, making the transportation sector a major contributor to the current global warming. This book focuses on the latest advances in technologies aiming at the sustainable future transportation of people and goods. A reduction in burning fossil fuel and technological transitions are the main approaches toward sustainable future transportation. Particular attention is given to automobile technological transitions, bike sharing systems, supply chain digitalization, and transport performance monitoring and optimization, among others

Sparse, hierarchical and shared-factors priors for representation learning

La représentation en caractéristiques est une préoccupation centrale des systèmes d’apprentissage automatique d’aujourd’hui. Une représentation adéquate peut faciliter une tâche d’apprentissage complexe. C’est le cas lorsque par exemple cette représentation est de faible dimensionnalité et est constituée de caractéristiques de haut niveau. Mais comment déterminer si une représentation est adéquate pour une tâche d’apprentissage ? Les récents travaux suggèrent qu’il est préférable de voir le choix de la représentation comme un problème d’apprentissage en soi. C’est ce que l’on nomme l’apprentissage de représentation. Cette thèse présente une série de contributions visant à améliorer la qualité des représentations apprises. La première contribution élabore une étude comparative des approches par dictionnaire parcimonieux sur le problème de la localisation de points de prises (pour la saisie robotisée) et fournit une analyse empirique de leurs avantages et leurs inconvénients. La deuxième contribution propose une architecture réseau de neurones à convolution (CNN) pour la détection de points de prise et la compare aux approches d’apprentissage par dictionnaire. Ensuite, la troisième contribution élabore une nouvelle fonction d’activation paramétrique et la valide expérimentalement. Finalement, la quatrième contribution détaille un nouveau mécanisme de partage souple de paramètres dans un cadre d’apprentissage multitâche.Feature representation is a central concern of today’s machine learning systems. A proper representation can facilitate a complex learning task. This is the case when for instance the representation has low dimensionality and consists of high-level characteristics. But how can we determine if a representation is adequate for a learning task? Recent work suggests that it is better to see the choice of representation as a learning problem in itself. This is called Representation Learning. This thesis presents a series of contributions aimed at improving the quality of the learned representations. The first contribution elaborates a comparative study of Sparse Dictionary Learning (SDL) approaches on the problem of grasp detection (for robotic grasping) and provides an empirical analysis of their advantages and disadvantages. The second contribution proposes a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architecture for grasp detection and compares it to SDL. Then, the third contribution elaborates a new parametric activation function and validates it experimentally. Finally, the fourth contribution details a new soft parameter sharing mechanism for multitasking learning