Source coding for transmission of reconstructed dynamic geometry: a rate-distortion-complexity analysis of different approaches

Live 3D reconstruction of a human as a 3D mesh with commodity electronics is becoming a reality. Immersive applications (i.e. cloud gaming, tele-presence) benefit from effective transmission of such content over a bandwidth limited link. In this paper we outline different approaches for compressing live reconstructed mesh geometry based on distributing mesh reconstruction functions between sender and receiver. We evaluate rate-performance-complexity of different configurations. First, we investigate 3D mesh compression methods (i.e. dynamic/static) from MPEG-4. Second, we evaluate the option of using octree based point cloud compression and receiver side surface reconstruction

Geometric Surface Processing and Virtual Modeling

In this work we focus on two main topics "Geometric Surface Processing" and "Virtual Modeling". The inspiration and coordination for most of the research work contained in the thesis has been driven by the project New Interactive and Innovative Technologies for CAD (NIIT4CAD), funded by the European Eurostars Programme. NIIT4CAD has the ambitious aim of overcoming the limitations of the traditional approach to surface modeling of current 3D CAD systems by introducing new methodologies and technologies based on subdivision surfaces in a new virtual modeling framework. These innovations will allow designers and engineers to transform quickly and intuitively an idea of shape in a high-quality geometrical model suited for engineering and manufacturing purposes. One of the objective of the thesis is indeed the reconstruction and modeling of surfaces, representing arbitrary topology objects, starting from 3D irregular curve networks acquired through an ad-hoc smart-pen device. The thesis is organized in two main parts: "Geometric Surface Processing" and "Virtual Modeling". During the development of the geometric pipeline in our Virtual Modeling system, we faced many challenges that captured our interest and opened new areas of research and experimentation. In the first part, we present these theories and some applications to Geometric Surface Processing. This allowed us to better formalize and give a broader understanding on some of the techniques used in our latest advancements on virtual modeling and surface reconstruction. The research on both topics led to important results that have been published and presented in articles and conferences of international relevance

Sparse Volumetric Deformation

Volume rendering is becoming increasingly popular as applications require realistic solid shape representations with seamless texture mapping and accurate filtering. However rendering sparse volumetric data is difficult because of the limited memory and processing capabilities of current hardware. To address these limitations, the volumetric information can be stored at progressive resolutions in the hierarchical branches of a tree structure, and sampled according to the region of interest. This means that only a partial region of the full dataset is processed, and therefore massive volumetric scenes can be rendered efficiently. The problem with this approach is that it currently only supports static scenes. This is because it is difficult to accurately deform massive amounts of volume elements and reconstruct the scene hierarchy in real-time. Another problem is that deformation operations distort the shape where more than one volume element tries to occupy the same location, and similarly gaps occur where deformation stretches the elements further than one discrete location. It is also challenging to efficiently support sophisticated deformations at hierarchical resolutions, such as character skinning or physically based animation. These types of deformation are expensive and require a control structure (for example a cage or skeleton) that maps to a set of features to accelerate the deformation process. The problems with this technique are that the varying volume hierarchy reflects different feature sizes, and manipulating the features at the original resolution is too expensive; therefore the control structure must also hierarchically capture features according to the varying volumetric resolution. This thesis investigates the area of deforming and rendering massive amounts of dynamic volumetric content. The proposed approach efficiently deforms hierarchical volume elements without introducing artifacts and supports both ray casting and rasterization renderers. This enables light transport to be modeled both accurately and efficiently with applications in the fields of real-time rendering and computer animation. Sophisticated volumetric deformation, including character animation, is also supported in real-time. This is achieved by automatically generating a control skeleton which is mapped to the varying feature resolution of the volume hierarchy. The output deformations are demonstrated in massive dynamic volumetric scenes

HSUS NEWS Volume 43, Number 04

Responding to the challenges of dog ownership (Paul G. Irwin) The Editor\u27s Eye (Deborah J. Salem) Trust us [The HSUS Wildlife Land Trust] A tree grows in Washington [International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD)] The state at the door [Gray wolves] A better way [Canada geese management in the Detroit metropolitan area] Irwin\u27s new role Is it sinking in? [National Dog Bite Prevention Week] Hail the safe haven [National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week] Snow geese in peril? Agency proposal could lead to massive killing (Susan Hagood) Check out our library! Models, videos prove popular alternatives to dissection Opening more homes to companion animals: HSUS helps landlords see pet owners as good tenants Summer success in South Africa: immunocontraception slows elephant population growth The Year of the Irish Proposal: IWC ponders de facto resumption of commercial whaling (Leesteffy Jenkins) To the rescue (Marlon S. Lane) Forum: the last gasps of the fur trade (Matthew Scully) HSUS launches Fur-Free 2000 (Danielle Bays) A designer\u27s evolution (Matthew Scully) HSUS in action: Florida wildfires Investing with care (Bob Brennan and Tanya Mulford

Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, showing the operations, expenditures, and condition of the institution for the year 1875.

Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution. [1665] Research related to the American Indian; Indian vocabularies; ancient artifacts from Michigan; etc

Experimental and Computational Analysis of Progressive Failure in Bolted Hybrid Composite Joints

Composite materials are strong, lightweight, and stiff making them desirable in aerospace applications. However, a practical issue arises with composites in that they behave unpredictably in bolted joints, where damage and cracks are often initiated. This research investigated a solution to correcting the problem with composite bolted joints. A novel hybrid composite material was developed, where thin stainless steel foils were placed between and in place of preimpregnated composite plies during the cure cycle to reinforce stress concentrations in bolted joints. This novel composite was compared to control samples experimentally in quasi-static monotonic loading in double shear configuration in 9-ply and 18-ply layups. It was also investigated in quasi-static loading in single shear configuration using 18-ply samples in both protruding head and countersunk head configurations. Progressive failure samples were compared to data to explain which phenomenon in the material caused certain features in experimental curves. The final goal of the experimental effort was to perform an initial cycle fatigue comparison between the novel hybrid and control materials. The parallel research effort explored creating finite element models that could correctly represent and predict the behavior of this hybrid system. This was the first effort employing numerical failure criterion alongside a rigorous experimentation across multiple configurations. Hybridizing the composite material increased yield by as much as 25% and increased ultimate load capacity as much as 42%. The finite element models employed Hashin failure criteria and proved the ability to predict the yield load capacity to within 6.5% error

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationShape analysis is a well-established tool for processing surfaces. It is often a first step in performing tasks such as segmentation, symmetry detection, and finding correspondences between shapes. Shape analysis is traditionally employed on well-sampled surfaces where the geometry and topology is precisely known. When the form of the surface is that of a point cloud containing nonuniform sampling, noise, and incomplete measurements, traditional shape analysis methods perform poorly. Although one may first perform reconstruction on such a point cloud prior to performing shape analysis, if the geometry and topology is far from the true surface, then this can have an adverse impact on the subsequent analysis. Furthermore, for triangulated surfaces containing noise, thin sheets, and poorly shaped triangles, existing shape analysis methods can be highly unstable. This thesis explores methods of shape analysis applied directly to such defect-laden shapes. We first study the problem of surface reconstruction, in order to obtain a better understanding of the types of point clouds for which reconstruction methods contain difficulties. To this end, we have devised a benchmark for surface reconstruction, establishing a standard for measuring error in reconstruction. We then develop a new method for consistently orienting normals of such challenging point clouds by using a collection of harmonic functions, intrinsically defined on the point cloud. Next, we develop a new shape analysis tool which is tolerant to imperfections, by constructing distances directly on the point cloud defined as the likelihood of two points belonging to a mutually common medial ball, and apply this for segmentation and reconstruction. We extend this distance measure to define a diffusion process on the point cloud, tolerant to missing data, which is used for the purposes of matching incomplete shapes undergoing a nonrigid deformation. Lastly, we have developed an intrinsic method for multiresolution remeshing of a poor-quality triangulated surface via spectral bisection

Grabbing the 'clean slate' : The politics of the intersection of land grabbing, disasters and climate change

Land grabs in the wake of a disaster are nothing new. However this phenomenon gains certain particularities and interest when it happens within the current context of climate change policy initiatives and the global land rush. This nexus produces a new set of political processes containing new actors and alliances, legitimizations, and mechanisms of dispossession that set off a different pace for land grabs. This study explores this nexus which has the potential to swiftly reboot spatial, institutional and political land arrangements in poor communities on a large scale, globally. The gap in the scholarly literature found in the disaster – global land rush – climate change nexus was examined from the perspective of a local community devastated by the 2013 super typhoon Haiyan in central Philippines. Using a political economy lens, the study revealed that along with the dynamics of the structural and institutional environment, the interaction between the pro-reform social and state actors determines the nature, pace, extent and trajectory of the land struggle. The ‘state-society interactive’ approach highlights the political agency of both the state and social actors, particularly how they exercise their autonomy and capacity, and maximize channels within and external to the state to advance their claim. How the interplay of different institutions of climate change mitigation, land grabs and disasters interacts with the political processes of current land grabs is the focus of this study

Good Corporation, Bad Corporation: Corporate Social Responsibility in the Global Economy

This textbook provides an innovative, internationally oriented approach to the teaching of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business ethics. Drawing on case studies involving companies and countries around the world, the textbook explores the social, ethical, and business dynamics underlying CSR in such areas as global warming, genetically modified organisms (GMO) in food production, free trade and fair trade, anti-sweatshop and living-wage movements, organic foods and textiles, ethical marketing practices and codes, corporate speech and lobbying, and social enterprise. The book is designed to encourage students and instructors to challenge their own assumptions and prejudices by stimulating a class debate based on each case study.https://knightscholar.geneseo.edu/oer-ost/1007/thumbnail.jp