Feasibility assessment of low cost stereo computer vision in clay target shooting coaching

Clay target shooting is a sport that has been slow to adopt new technology to help automate and improve coaching. Currently gun mounted cameras and shooting simulators are available but these are prohibitively expensive for most shooters. This project aims to determine if a lower cost alternative can be created to provide feedback to new shooters about the distance they missed the target using low cost stereo computer vision. Initially an investigation was undertaken into the use of web cameras and GoPro action cameras for suitability to create a stereo vision system to track the shooter aim and the target position. The focus of this assessment was the camera resolution, frame rate and ability to be synchronized. The assessment found that these consumer-grade cameras all have high resolutions but no ability to be synchronized. Of these cameras the GoPro cameras could record in high definition at much higher frame rates then the web cameras and therefore were selected for the field trials. Field trials to test the accuracy of the low cost stereo vision system were performed in three phases; 'static', 'dynamic' and 'vs coaches'. The static trials were designed to find a baseline accuracy where the effect of frame synchronization errors could be reduced. The dynamic trials were performed to test the system on moving targets and to try and compensate for the synchronization errors. Finally the system was trialed against the judgement of three experienced human judges to test its reliability against the current coaching method. Matlab scripts were written to process the stereo images that were recorded as part of the field trials. Using colour thresholding and a custom filter that was created as part of this project, markers on the gun and the clay target were able to be segmented from the background in the trials. Using these positions the real world coordinates were able to be calculated and the aim of the gun vs target location estimated. The outcome of the trials showed that low cost computer vision can have good accuracy in estimation of gun aim in a static scene. When movement was introduced to the trials the synchronization errors of the cameras resulted in large positional errors. The final outcome of the project determined that low cost stereo computer vision is far less reliable and accurate than human coaches and is not at this time feasible to be used in clay target coaching

Real-time measurement of biaxial tensions using digital image correlation methods

The mechanical properties of biological materials need to be measured for various applications. A means of inducing biaxial tensions in samples like these is with an inflation or bulge test. Normally the material under test would be measured with displacement gauges, however, under these conditions, where the specimen is soft and further, where the measurement cycle cannot be reliably paused, a contactless real-time measurement system is necessary to obtain reliable deformation data. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is one such method. Pioneered in the 1980s the field has developed from basic 2D displacement measurements to very sophisticated full field 3D displacement measurement systems. The question becomes can the current state of the field, as well as the advances in modern technology, be leveraged to create a useable 3D DIC measurement system that is: • Useable in a real-time context. • Portable enough to be able to run these experiments wherever the experiment apparatus is located. • Cost effective enough to reduce the barrier to entry that the current commercial options present. To this end off-the-shelf components were acquired to form the technology base of the system. The open-source DICe framework, which enabled the necessary level of access to the underlying code base, was implemented on an NVIDIA Jetson Nano single board computer. Synchronised, stereo image acquisition was implemented via an Arducam 12 MP camera system. A stepper motor controlled linear drive was used to experimentally investigate accuracy and speed of the DIC system, for both rigid body motion and deforming targets. A thorough review of the concepts involved in DIC is undertaken followed by a detailed description of the design and build of the system. Ultimately a set of experiments are executed that show that, within a set of important constraints, it is indeed possible to run 3D DIC in real-time with off the shelf, cost effective components

On-belt Tomosynthesis: 3D Imaging of Baggage for Security Inspection

This thesis describes the design, testing and evaluation of `On-belt Tomosynthesis' (ObT): a cost-e ective baggage screening system based on limited angle digital x-ray tomosynthesis and close-range photogrammetry. It is designed to be retro tted to existing airport conveyor-belt systems and to overcome the limitations of current systems creating a pseudo-3D imaging system by combining x-ray and optical imaging to form digital tomograms. The ObT design and set-up consists of a con guration of two x-ray sources illuminating 12 strip detectors around a conveyor belt curve forming an 180 arc. Investigating the acquired ObT x-ray images' noise sources and distortions, improvements were demonstrated using developed image correction methods. An increase of 45% in image uniformity was shown as a result, in the postcorrection images. Simulation image reconstruction of objects with lower attenuation coe cients showed the potential of ObT to clearly distinguish between them. Reconstruction of real data showed that objects of bigger attenuation di erences (copper versus perspex, rather than air versus perspex) could be observed better. The main conclusion from the reconstruction results was that the current imaging method needed further re nements, regarding the geometry registration and the image reconstruction. The simulation results con rmed that advancing the experimental method could produce better results than the ones which can currently be achieved. For the current state of ObT, a standard deviation of 2 mm in (a) the source coordinates, and 2 in (b) the detector angles does not a ect the image reconstruction results. Therefore, a low-cost single camera coordination and tracking solution was developed to replace the previously used manual measurements. Results obtained by the developed solution showed that the necessary prerequisites for the ObT image reconstruction could be addressed. The resulting standard deviation was of an average of 0.4 mm and 1 degree for (a) and (b) respectively

Videos in Context for Telecommunication and Spatial Browsing

The research presented in this thesis explores the use of videos embedded in panoramic imagery to transmit spatial and temporal information describing remote environments and their dynamics. Virtual environments (VEs) through which users can explore remote locations are rapidly emerging as a popular medium of presence and remote collaboration. However, capturing visual representation of locations to be used in VEs is usually a tedious process that requires either manual modelling of environments or the employment of specific hardware. Capturing environment dynamics is not straightforward either, and it is usually performed through specific tracking hardware. Similarly, browsing large unstructured video-collections with available tools is difficult, as the abundance of spatial and temporal information makes them hard to comprehend. At the same time, on a spectrum between 3D VEs and 2D images, panoramas lie in between, as they offer the same 2D images accessibility while preserving 3D virtual environments surrounding representation. For this reason, panoramas are an attractive basis for videoconferencing and browsing tools as they can relate several videos temporally and spatially. This research explores methods to acquire, fuse, render and stream data coming from heterogeneous cameras, with the help of panoramic imagery. Three distinct but interrelated questions are addressed. First, the thesis considers how spatially localised video can be used to increase the spatial information transmitted during video mediated communication, and if this improves quality of communication. Second, the research asks whether videos in panoramic context can be used to convey spatial and temporal information of a remote place and the dynamics within, and if this improves users' performance in tasks that require spatio-temporal thinking. Finally, the thesis considers whether there is an impact of display type on reasoning about events within videos in panoramic context. These research questions were investigated over three experiments, covering scenarios common to computer-supported cooperative work and video browsing. To support the investigation, two distinct video+context systems were developed. The first telecommunication experiment compared our videos in context interface with fully-panoramic video and conventional webcam video conferencing in an object placement scenario. The second experiment investigated the impact of videos in panoramic context on quality of spatio-temporal thinking during localization tasks. To support the experiment, a novel interface to video-collection in panoramic context was developed and compared with common video-browsing tools. The final experimental study investigated the impact of display type on reasoning about events. The study explored three adaptations of our video-collection interface to three display types. The overall conclusion is that videos in panoramic context offer a valid solution to spatio-temporal exploration of remote locations. Our approach presents a richer visual representation in terms of space and time than standard tools, showing that providing panoramic contexts to video collections makes spatio-temporal tasks easier. To this end, videos in context are suitable alternative to more difficult, and often expensive solutions. These findings are beneficial to many applications, including teleconferencing, virtual tourism and remote assistance

Gesture recognition with application in music arrangement

This thesis studies the interaction with music synthesis systems using hand gestures. Traditionally users of such systems were limited to input devices such as buttons, pedals, faders, and joysticks. The use of gestures allows the user to interact with the system in a more intuitive way. Without the constraint of input devices, the user can simultaneously control more elements within the music composition, thus increasing the level of the system's responsiveness to the musician's creative thoughts. A working system of this concept is implemented, employing computer vision and machine intelligence techniques to recognise the user's gestures.Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2006.Computer ScienceMScunrestricte

Future bathroom: A study of user-centred design principles affecting usability, safety and satisfaction in bathrooms for people living with disabilities

Research and development work relating to assistive technology 2010-11 (Department of Health) Presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 22 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 197

Development and evaluation of a haptic framework supporting telerehabilitation robotics and group interaction

Telerehabilitation robotics has grown remarkably in the past few years. It can provide intensive training to people with special needs remotely while facilitating therapists to observe the whole process. Telerehabilitation robotics is a promising solution supporting routine care which can help to transform face-to-face and one-on-one treatment sessions that require not only intensive human resource but are also restricted to some specialised care centres to treatments that are technology-based (less human involvement) and easy to access remotely from anywhere. However, there are some limitations such as network latency, jitter, and delay of the internet that can affect negatively user experience and quality of the treatment session. Moreover, the lack of social interaction since all treatments are performed over the internet can reduce motivation of the patients. As a result, these limitations are making it very difficult to deliver an efficient recovery plan. This thesis developed and evaluated a new framework designed to facilitate telerehabilitation robotics. The framework integrates multiple cutting-edge technologies to generate playful activities that involve group interaction with binaural audio, visual, and haptic feedback with robot interaction in a variety of environments. The research questions asked were: 1) Can activity mediated by technology motivate and influence the behaviour of users, so that they engage in the activity and sustain a good level of motivation? 2) Will working as a group enhance users’ motivation and interaction? 3) Can we transfer real life activity involving group interaction to virtual domain and deliver it reliably via the internet? There were three goals in this work: first was to compare people’s behaviours and motivations while doing the task in a group and on their own; second was to determine whether group interaction in virtual and reala environments was different from each other in terms of performance, engagement and strategy to complete the task; finally was to test out the effectiveness of the framework based on the benchmarks generated from socially assistive robotics literature. Three studies have been conducted to achieve the first goal, two with healthy participants and one with seven autistic children. The first study observed how people react in a challenging group task while the other two studies compared group and individual interactions. The results obtained from these studies showed that the group interactions were more enjoyable than individual interactions and most likely had more positive effects in terms of user behaviours. This suggests that the group interaction approach has the potential to motivate individuals to make more movements and be more active and could be applied in the future for more serious therapy. Another study has been conducted to measure group interaction’s performance in virtual and real environments and pointed out which aspect influences users’ strategy for dealing with the task. The results from this study helped to form a better understanding to predict a user’s behaviour in a collaborative task. A simulation has been run to compare the results generated from the predictor and the real data. It has shown that, with an appropriate training method, the predictor can perform very well. This thesis has demonstrated the feasibility of group interaction via the internet using robotic technology which could be beneficial for people who require social interaction (e.g. stroke patients and autistic children) in their treatments without regular visits to the clinical centres