Real-Time External Labeling for Interactive Visualization in Virtual Environments

A real-time external labeling algorithm has been developed to explore the potential for applying annotation and visualization to virtual reality environments, which manages label placement in the projections of virtual 3D models on the view plane. The approach intends to place labels with visual constraints, such as no overlapping, intersections, and occlusions, close proximity to the model parts, by adjusting external annotations\u27 positions concerning available space in the view plane. This algorithm is based on the projected model\u27s contour and adapts to camera viewpoint changes within interactive frame rates. It solves the visibility problem of annotations and operates in real-time when the model is rotated. The results show that the proposed method can improve user understanding of complicated 3D models and can be applied to interactive virtual environments

Proceedings of the 23th Bilateral Student Workshop CTU Prague: Dresden (Germany) 2019

This technical report publishes the proceedings of the 23th Prague Workshop, which was held from 29th to 30th November 2019. The workshop offers a possibility for young scientists to present their current research work in the fields of computer graphics, human-computer-interaction, robotics and usability. The works is meant as a platform to bring together researchers from both the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU) and the University of Applied Sciences Dresden (HTW). The German Academic Exchange Service offers its financial support to allow student participants the bilateral exchange between Prague and Dresden.:1) Incremental Pose Estimation of multiple LiDAR Scanners using their Pointclouds, S.3 2) Soft- and Hardware Developments for Immersive Learning, S.6 3) Qualitative comparison of methods for example-based style transfer, S.13 4) External Labeling With Utilization of Containment Information, S.16 5) Real Time Viewing Direction Analysis to Store Recognized Faces, S.20 6) Raising living standards of older adults - User research, S.29 7) Raising living standards of older adults - Concept, S.33 8) Towards the RoNiSCo Mobile Application, S.36 9) Development of a Fallen People Detector, S.41 10) Interactive tactile map for visually impaired older adults, S.47 11) Physical 3D LED display, S.5

A robust patch-based synthesis framework for combining inconsistent images

Current methods for combining different images produce visible artifacts when the sources have very different textures and structures, come from far view points, or capture dynamic scenes with motions. In this thesis, we propose a patch-based synthesis algorithm to plausibly combine different images that have color, texture, structural, and geometric inconsistencies. For some applications such as cloning and stitching where a gradual blend is required, we present a new method for synthesizing a transition region between two source images, such that inconsistent properties change gradually from one source to the other. We call this process image melding. For gradual blending, we generalized patch-based optimization foundation with three key generalizations: First, we enrich the patch search space with additional geometric and photometric transformations. Second, we integrate image gradients into the patch representation and replace the usual color averaging with a screened Poisson equation solver. Third, we propose a new energy based on mixed L2/L0 norms for colors and gradients that produces a gradual transition between sources without sacrificing texture sharpness. Together, all three generalizations enable patch-based solutions to a broad class of image melding problems involving inconsistent sources: object cloning, stitching challenging panoramas, hole filling from multiple photos, and image harmonization. We also demonstrate another application which requires us to address inconsistencies across the images: high dynamic range (HDR) reconstruction using sequential exposures. In this application, the results will suffer from objectionable artifacts for dynamic scenes if the inconsistencies caused by significant scene motions are not handled properly. In this thesis, we propose a new approach to HDR reconstruction that uses information in all exposures while being more robust to motion than previous techniques. Our algorithm is based on a novel patch-based energy-minimization formulation that integrates alignment and reconstruction in a joint optimization through an equation we call the HDR image synthesis equation. This allows us to produce an HDR result that is aligned to one of the exposures yet contains information from all of them. These two applications (image melding and high dynamic range reconstruction) show that patch based methods like the one proposed in this dissertation can address inconsistent images and could open the door to many new image editing applications in the future

PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE SPECIAL ISSUE ON APPLICATIONS OF AUGMENTED REALITY ENVIRONMENTS 1 Augmented Reality for Construction Site Monitoring and Documentation

Abstract—Augmented Reality allows for an on-site presentation of information that is registered to the physical environment. Applications from civil engineering, which require users to process complex information, are among those which can benefit particularly highly from such a presentation. In this paper, we will describe how to use Augmented Reality (AR) to support monitoring and documentation of construction site progress. For these tasks, the staff responsible usually requires fast and comprehensible access to progress information to enable comparison to the as-built status as well as to as-planned data. Instead of tediously searching and mapping related information to the actual construction site environment, our AR system allows for the access of information right where it is needed. This is achieved by superimposing progress as well as as-planned information onto the user’s view of the physical environment. For this purpose, we present an approach that uses aerial 3D reconstruction to automatically capture progress information and a mobile AR client for on-site visualization. Within this paper, we will describe in greater detail how to capture 3D, how to register the AR system within the physical outdoor environment, how to visualize progress information in a comprehensible way in an AR overlay and how to interact with this kind of information. By implementing such an AR system, we are able to provide an overview about the possibilities and future applications of AR in the construction industry

Seeking for Love and Intimacy. Emerging Adults, Mobile Dating Affordances and Dating Culture

The security provided by social norms to individuals has been replaced by uncertainty and endless choices. With the advent of the Internet, the effects and dimensions of all these changes have been intricately combined and intertwined. People have discovered new ways to explore their private lives thanks to technological advancements which have augmented their social reality. The Internet has become a social mediator in a way that initiates, accelerates, defines, and even ends communication. Mobile dating applications have accelerated all these processes by influencing binding elements such as time and space, and have added new dimensions to the experiences, ideas, and perspectives of individuals by creating new patterns. Most, if not all, dates and romantic relationships have infiltrated online practices. All these factors affect the way how emerging adults perceive the world and reflect on their personal preferences. The Mobility Paradigm looks beyond immobile socioeconomic systems and fixed cultural identities to provide a new perspective of past and current cultures, thus looking through this lens will help me discover changes in the way romantic relationships are experienced and established. I aim to address this paradigmatic change and explore how these changes take forms through online tools and how they affect and create new patterns of love and dating.The security provided by social norms to individuals has been replaced by uncertainty and endless choices. With the advent of the Internet, the effects and dimensions of all these changes have been intricately combined and intertwined. People have discovered new ways to explore their private lives thanks to technological advancements which have augmented their social reality. The Internet has become a social mediator in a way that initiates, accelerates, defines, and even ends communication. Mobile dating applications have accelerated all these processes by influencing binding elements such as time and space, and have added new dimensions to the experiences, ideas, and perspectives of individuals by creating new patterns. Most, if not all, dates and romantic relationships have infiltrated online practices. All these factors affect the way how emerging adults perceive the world and reflect on their personal preferences. The Mobility Paradigm looks beyond immobile socioeconomic systems and fixed cultural identities to provide a new perspective of past and current cultures, thus looking through this lens will help me discover changes in the way romantic relationships are experienced and established. I aim to address this paradigmatic change and explore how these changes take forms through online tools and how they affect and create new patterns of love and dating

Relational Red Flags: Detecting Undesirable Qualities in Initial Romantic Encounters

This dissertation extends the work of Signal Detection Theory (SDT) (Green & Swets, 1966; Swets, 1964) in the social sciences by applying it to romantic relationships, specifically initial romantic encounters (i.e. formal or informal first few dates, or random, chance encounters). The term relational red flag is put forth to describe the detection of signals in initial romantic encounters that may be perceived as any undesirable quality, which can be a characteristic, behavior, state, or trait that a person would not want in a potential romantic partner. These undesirable qualities can be costly to a healthy, stable relationship because they conflict with the individual’s own expectations, similarities, and compatibilities. The significant findings of this dissertation are derived from a two-study, mixed methods approach. The results from Study 1 led to the formation of a relational red flag typology, comprised of the nine main types and 23 subtypes of relational red flags, which also included the identification of the most severe relational red flags. Gender differences were also discovered. Study 2 built off the foundation provided by Study 1, revealing that relational red flags change across young adulthood, depending on an individual’s specific dating experiences and their own personal development. Findings also showed that an individual’s family and social network can play a vital role in the detection and processing of relational red flags. Additionally, a sequential identification and decision-making process was also discovered, which explains how individuals detect, label, and then handle relational red flags. Lastly, the best and worst approaches to handling relational red flags was also identified. Discussions, limitations, and future research are provided for both studies