Untangling hotel industry’s inefficiency: An SFA approach applied to a renowned Portuguese hotel chain

The present paper explores the technical efficiency of four hotels from Teixeira Duarte Group - a renowned Portuguese hotel chain. An efficiency ranking is established from these four hotel units located in Portugal using Stochastic Frontier Analysis. This methodology allows to discriminate between measurement error and systematic inefficiencies in the estimation process enabling to investigate the main inefficiency causes. Several suggestions concerning efficiency improvement are undertaken for each hotel studied.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Robust density modelling using the student's t-distribution for human action recognition

The extraction of human features from videos is often inaccurate and prone to outliers. Such outliers can severely affect density modelling when the Gaussian distribution is used as the model since it is highly sensitive to outliers. The Gaussian distribution is also often used as base component of graphical models for recognising human actions in the videos (hidden Markov model and others) and the presence of outliers can significantly affect the recognition accuracy. In contrast, the Student's t-distribution is more robust to outliers and can be exploited to improve the recognition rate in the presence of abnormal data. In this paper, we present an HMM which uses mixtures of t-distributions as observation probabilities and show how experiments over two well-known datasets (Weizmann, MuHAVi) reported a remarkable improvement in classification accuracy. © 2011 IEEE

움직이는 단일 카메라를 이용한 3차원 복원과 디블러링, 초해상도 복원의 동시적 수행 기법

학위논문 (박사)-- 서울대학교 대학원 : 전기·컴퓨터공학부, 2013. 8. 이경무.영상 기반 3차원 복원은 컴퓨터 비전의 기본적인 연구 주제 가운데 하나로 최근 몇 년간 많은 발전이 있어왔다. 특히 자동 로봇을 위한 네비게이션 및 휴대 기기를 이용한 증강 현실 등에 널리 활용될 수 있는 단일 카메라를 이용한 3차원 복원 기법은 복원의 정확도, 복원 가능 범위 및 처리 속도 측면에서 많은 실용 가능성을 보여주고 있다. 그러나 그 성능은 여전히 조심스레 촬영된 높은 품질의 입력 영상에 대해서만 시험되고 있다. 움직이는 단일 카메라를 이용한 3차원 복원의 실제 동작 환경에서는 입력 영상이 화소 잡음이나 움직임에 의한 번짐 등에 의하여 손상될 수 있고, 영상의 해상도 또한 정확한 카메라 위치 인식 및 3차원 복원을 위해서는 충분히 높지 않을 수 있다. 많은 연구에서 고성능 영상 화질 향상 기법들이 제안되어 왔지만 이들은 일반적으로 높은 계산 비용을 필요로 하기 때문에 실시간 동작 능력이 중요한 단일 카메라 기반 3차원 복원에 사용되기에는 부적합하다. 본 논문에서는 보다 정확하고 안정된 복원을 위하여 영상 개선이 결합된 새로운 단일 카메라 기반 3차원 복원 기법을 다룬다. 이를 위하여 영상 품질이 저하되는 중요한 두 요인인 움직임에 의한 영상 번짐과 낮은 해상도 문제가 각각 점 기반 복원 및 조밀 복원 기법들과 결합된다. 영상 품질 저하를 포함한 영상 획득 과정은 카메라 및 장면의 3차원 기하 구조와 관측된 영상 사이의 관계를 이용하여 모델링 할 수 있고, 이러한 영상 품질 저하 과정을 고려함으로써 정확한 3차원 복원을 하는 것이 가능해진다. 또한, 영상 번짐 제거를 위한 번짐 커널 또는 영상의 초해상도 복원을 위한 화소 대응 정보 등이 3차원 복원 과정과 동시에 얻어지는것이 가능하여, 영상 개선이 보다 간편하고 빠르게 수행될 수 있다. 제안되는 기법은 3차원 복원과 영상 개선 문제를 동시에 해결함으로써 각각의 결과가 상호 보완적으로 향상된다는 점에서 그 장점을 가지고 있다. 본 논문에서는 실험적 평가를 통하여 제안되는 3차원 복원 및 영상 개선의 효과성을 입증하도록 한다.Vision-based 3D reconstruction is one of the fundamental problems in computer vision, and it has been researched intensively significantly in the last decades. In particular, 3D reconstruction using a single camera, which has a wide range of applications such as autonomous robot navigation and augmented reality, shows great possibilities in its reconstruction accuracy, scale of reconstruction coverage, and computational efficiency. However, until recently, the performances of most algorithms have been tested only with carefully recorded, high quality input sequences. In practical situations, input images for 3D reconstruction can be severely distorted due to various factors such as pixel noise and motion blur, and the resolution of images may not be high enough to achieve accurate camera localization and scene reconstruction results. Although various high-performance image enhancement methods have been proposed in many studies, the high computational costs of those methods prevent applying them to the 3D reconstruction systems where the real-time capability is an important issue. In this dissertation, novel single camera-based 3D reconstruction methods that are combined with image enhancement methods is studied to improve the accuracy and reliability of 3D reconstruction. To this end, two critical image degradations, motion blur and low image resolution, are addressed for both sparse reconstruction and dense 3D reconstruction systems, and novel integrated enhancement methods for those degradations are presented. Using the relationship between the observed images and 3D geometry of the camera and scenes, the image formation process including image degradations is modeled by the camera and scene geometry. Then, by taking the image degradation factors in consideration, accurate 3D reconstruction then is achieved. Furthermore, the information required for image enhancement, such as blur kernels for deblurring and pixel correspondences for super-resolution, is simultaneously obtained while reconstructing 3D scene, and this makes the image enhancement much simpler and faster. The proposed methods have an advantage that the results of 3D reconstruction and image enhancement are improved by each other with the simultaneous solution of these problems. Experimental evaluations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed 3D reconstruction and image enhancement methods.1. Introduction 2. Sparse 3D Reconstruction and Image Deblurring 3. Sparse 3D Reconstruction and Image Super-Resolution 4. Dense 3D Reconstruction and Image Deblurring 5. Dense 3D Reconstruction and Image Super-Resolution 6. Dense 3D Reconstruction, Image Deblurring, and Super-Resolution 7. ConclusionDocto

GENETIC PERSPECTIVES ON BIODIVERSITY IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN ALPINE STREAMS

In alpine regions worldwide, climate change is dramatically altering ecosystems, affecting biodiversity across habitats and taxonomic scales. For streams, the associated recession of mountain glaciers and snowfields, paired with altered precipitation regimes, are driving shifts in hydrology, species distributions, and basal resources – often threatening the very existence of some habitats and biota. Globally, alpine streams harbor particularly substantial species and genetic diversity due to significant habitat insularity and environmental heterogeneity: however, anthropogenic warming threatens to homogenize habitats through the reduction of the cryosphere, thereby reducing biodiversity from micro- to macroscopic organisms and genes to communities. Still, alpine stream biodiversity, particularly in North America, is poorly understood, making it difficult to predict future changes without baselines for comparison. For my dissertation, I used genetic tools to assess biodiversity in alpine streams of the central Rocky Mountains in North America. Here, I begin by reviewing the current state of alpine stream biology from an organismal perspective. Next, I provide two perspectives on macroinvertebrate diversity. The first, a population genetic comparison of three highly similar species, is followed by a fine-scale genomic study of one species, Lednia tumana. I follow these largely macroinvertebrate-centric chapters with a modern synthesis of the microbial ecology of mountain glacier ecosystems. Finally, I conclude with a study of microbial diversity that addresses how microbial diversity is shaped by geography, habitat, and hydrological source in North America. Collectively, this research refines existing themes in alpine stream biology by revealing unexpected differences in population genetic patterns among closely related species, the influence of recent deglaciation on population genetic structure and demographic history of a threatened stonefly, and clarification of the environmental drivers shaping microbial diversity

Fortgeschrittene Methoden und Algorithmen für die computergestützte geodätische Datenanalyse

Die fortschreitende Digitalisierung mit ihren innovativen Technologien stellt zunehmende Anforderungen an Wirtschaft, Gesellschaft und Verwaltungen. Digitale Daten gelten als Schlüsselressource, die hohe Ansprüche u.a. an die Datenverarbeitung stellt, wie z. B. hohe Geschwindigkeit und Zuverlässigkeit. Besondere Bedeutung sind digitalen Daten mit Raumbezug beizumessen. Digitale Daten stammen im Bereich der Geodäsie und Geoinformatik von Multi-Sensor-Systemen, Satellitenmissionen, Smartphones, technischen Geräten, Computern oder von Datenbanken unterschiedlichster Institutionen und Behörden. „Big Data“ heißt der Trend und es gilt die enormen Datenmengen so breit und so effektiv wie möglich zu nutzen und mit Hilfe von computergestützten Tools, beispielsweise basierend auf künstlicher Intelligenz, auszuwerten. Um diese großen Datenmengen statistisch auszuwerten und zu analysieren, müssen laufend neue Modelle und Algorithmen entwickelt, getestet und validiert werden. Algorithmen erleichtern Geodätinnen und Geodäten seit Jahrzehnten das Leben - sie schätzen, entscheiden, wählen aus und bewerten die durchgeführten Analysen. Bei der geodätisch-statistischen Datenanalyse werden Beobachtungen zusammen mit Fachkenntnissen verwendet, um ein Modell zur Untersuchung und zum besseren Verständnis eines datengenerierenden Prozesses zu entwickeln. Die Datenanalyse wird verwendet, um das Modell zu verfeinern oder möglicherweise ein anderes Modell auszuwählen, um geeignete Werte für Modellterme zu bestimmen und um das Modell zu verwenden, oder um Aussagen über den Prozess zu treffen. Die Fortschritte in der Statistik in den vergangenen Jahren beschränken sich nicht nur auf die Theorie, sondern umfassen auch die Entwicklung von neuartigen computergestützten Methoden. Die Fortschritte in der Rechenleistung haben neuere und aufwendigere statistische Methoden ermöglicht. Eine Vielzahl von alternativen Darstellungen der Daten und von Modellen können untersucht werden. Wenn bestimmte statistische Modelle mathematisch nicht realisierbar sind, müssen Approximationsmethoden angewendet werden, die oft auf asymptotischer Inferenz basieren. Fortschritte in der Rechenleistung und Entwicklungen in der Theorie haben die computergestützte Inferenz zu einer praktikablen und nützlichen Alternative zu den Standardmethoden der asymptotischen Inferenz in der traditionellen Statistik werden lassen. Die computergestützte Inferenz basiert auf der Simulation statistischer Modelle. Die vorliegende Habilitationsschrift stellt die Ergebnisse der Forschungsaktivitäten des Autors im Bereich der statistischen und simulationsbasierten Inferenz für die geodätische Datenanalyse vor, die am Geodätischen Institut der Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover während der Zeit des Autors als Postdoktorand von 2009 bis 2019 publiziert wurden. Die Forschungsschwerpunkte in dieser Arbeit befassen sich mit der Entwicklung von mathematisch-statistischen Modellen, Schätzverfahren und computergestützten Algorithmen, um raum-zeitliche und möglicherweise unvollständige Daten, welche durch zufällige, systematische, ausreißerbehaftete und korrelierte Messabweichungen charakterisiert sind, rekursiv sowie nicht-rekursiv auszugleichen. Herausforderungen bestehen hierbei in der genauen, zuverlässigen und effizienten Schätzung der unbekannten Modellparameter, in der Ableitung von Qualitätsmaßen der Schätzung sowie in der statistisch-simulationsbasierten Beurteilung der Schätzergebnisse. Die Forschungsschwerpunkte haben verschiedene Anwendungsmöglichkeiten in den Bereichen der Ingenieurgeodäsie und der Immobilienbewertung gefunden

Advanced Data Analytics Methodologies for Anomaly Detection in Multivariate Time Series Vehicle Operating Data

Early detection of faults in the vehicle operating systems is a research domain of high significance to sustain full control of the systems since anomalous behaviors usually result in performance loss for a long time before detecting them as critical failures. In other words, operating systems exhibit degradation when failure begins to occur. Indeed, multiple presences of the failures in the system performance are not only anomalous behavior signals but also show that taking maintenance actions to keep the system performance is vital. Maintaining the systems in the nominal performance for the lifetime with the lowest maintenance cost is extremely challenging and it is important to be aware of imminent failure before it arises and implement the best countermeasures to avoid extra losses. In this context, the timely anomaly detection of the performance of the operating system is worthy of investigation. Early detection of imminent anomalous behaviors of the operating system is difficult without appropriate modeling, prediction, and analysis of the time series records of the system. Data based technologies have prepared a great foundation to develop advanced methods for modeling and prediction of time series data streams. In this research, we propose novel methodologies to predict the patterns of multivariate time series operational data of the vehicle and recognize the second-wise unhealthy states. These approaches help with the early detection of abnormalities in the behavior of the vehicle based on multiple data channels whose second-wise records for different functional working groups in the operating systems of the vehicle. Furthermore, a real case study data set is used to validate the accuracy of the proposed prediction and anomaly detection methodologies

Study of Computational Image Matching Techniques: Improving Our View of Biomedical Image Data

Image matching techniques are proven to be necessary in various fields of science and engineering, with many new methods and applications introduced over the years. In this PhD thesis, several computational image matching methods are introduced and investigated for improving the analysis of various biomedical image data. These improvements include the use of matching techniques for enhancing visualization of cross-sectional imaging modalities such as Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), denoising of retinal Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), and high quality 3D reconstruction of surfaces from Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images. This work greatly improves the process of data interpretation of image data with far reaching consequences for basic sciences research. The thesis starts with a general notion of the problem of image matching followed by an overview of the topics covered in the thesis. This is followed by introduction and investigation of several applications of image matching/registration in biomdecial image processing: a) registration-based slice interpolation, b) fast mesh-based deformable image registration and c) use of simultaneous rigid registration and Robust Principal Component Analysis (RPCA) for speckle noise reduction of retinal OCT images. Moving towards a different notion of image matching/correspondence, the problem of view synthesis and 3D reconstruction, with a focus on 3D reconstruction of microscopic samples from 2D images captured by SEM, is considered next. Starting from sparse feature-based matching techniques, an extensive analysis is provided for using several well-known feature detector/descriptor techniques, namely ORB, BRIEF, SURF and SIFT, for the problem of multi-view 3D reconstruction. This chapter contains qualitative and quantitative comparisons in order to reveal the shortcomings of the sparse feature-based techniques. This is followed by introduction of a novel framework using sparse-dense matching/correspondence for high quality 3D reconstruction of SEM images. As will be shown, the proposed framework results in better reconstructions when compared with state-of-the-art sparse-feature based techniques. Even though the proposed framework produces satisfactory results, there is room for improvements. These improvements become more necessary when dealing with higher complexity microscopic samples imaged by SEM as well as in cases with large displacements between corresponding points in micrographs. Therefore, based on the proposed framework, a new approach is proposed for high quality 3D reconstruction of microscopic samples. While in case of having simpler microscopic samples the performance of the two proposed techniques are comparable, the new technique results in more truthful reconstruction of highly complex samples. The thesis is concluded with an overview of the thesis and also pointers regarding future directions of the research using both multi-view and photometric techniques for 3D reconstruction of SEM images

Air Force Institute of Technology Research Report 2012

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 and Engineering Management, Operational Sciences, Mathematics, Statistics and Engineering Physics