Multispectral photography for earth resources

A guide for producing accurate multispectral results for earth resource applications is presented along with theoretical and analytical concepts of color and multispectral photography. Topics discussed include: capabilities and limitations of color and color infrared films; image color measurements; methods of relating ground phenomena to film density and color measurement; sensitometry; considerations in the selection of multispectral cameras and components; and mission planning

AirCode: Unobtrusive Physical Tags for Digital Fabrication

We present AirCode, a technique that allows the user to tag physically fabricated objects with given information. An AirCode tag consists of a group of carefully designed air pockets placed beneath the object surface. These air pockets are easily produced during the fabrication process of the object, without any additional material or postprocessing. Meanwhile, the air pockets affect only the scattering light transport under the surface, and thus are hard to notice to our naked eyes. But, by using a computational imaging method, the tags become detectable. We present a tool that automates the design of air pockets for the user to encode information. AirCode system also allows the user to retrieve the information from captured images via a robust decoding algorithm. We demonstrate our tagging technique with applications for metadata embedding, robotic grasping, as well as conveying object affordances.Comment: ACM UIST 2017 Technical Paper

Web-based survey of consumer preferences for the visual appearance of meat from suckling kids

Most suckling kids are raised on farms oriented toward cheese production, and many goat farmers’ rear kids with milk replacers. The aim of the current study was to investigate the consumer preferences for the visual appearance of meat from suckling kids reared with milk replacers or natural milk. Meat colour was the major criterion used to select meat. The meat of Cabra del Guadarrama reared with milk replacers was preferred by 72% of consumers and had a preferred lightness and hue angle. The rearing system did not influence preference through the time of display. Web-based surveys provided similar information to information recorded with live surveys using actual products instead of pictures. Meat colour appears to be a recurring intrinsic cue to assess consumer preference. In general, consumers preferred meat of light suckling kids reared on milk replacers because this meat had a high lightness and hue angle as well as a low chroma

A study of gravure cell structure generated by the Hell Chromagraph 399 ER laser scanner onto a photopolymer plastic gravure printing surface

It is known that the gravure process provides the best quality printed materials and the fastest production speed. The gravure process, as a matter of fact, is the only process which can utilize fully digital imaging technology. For instance, the Helio-Klischograph Model K201 and K202 incorporated with the Hell Chromacom System can engrave gravure cylinders directly without using any halftone films or bromides. Hell Co., Ltd., moreover, has been developing the electron beam engraving technique which employs digital imaging technology to engrave gravure cylinders. On the other hand, Crosfield Electronics Co., Ltd. introduced the Lasergravure process which also utilizes digital imaging technology to engrave gravure cylinders. However, these techniques represent very high costs for gravure printers. Only large companies can afford such investments. The gravure process, generally speaking, is the most expensive process, mainly due to the costs of printing cylinder preparation. To compensate for costly prepress, it is therefore used for high production runs. This constraint is the main disadvantage of the gravure process and has caused the gravure market to become smaller than its competitors web offset and flexography. Research in web offset and flexo has been successful in developing higher print quality, faster production speed and lower costs. Therefore, there are some companies which have been developing a method of making photopolymer-coated cylinders for gravure to reduce, not only the costs of the metal cylinders and the sophisticated equipment, but also the production time. The company that provided photopolymer material for this thesis claimed that its products can be commercially made as gravure cylinders. This photopolymer can be imaged by a conventional ultraviolet fluorescent lamp. Both the company and the author agreed that it might be feasible to utilize digital imaging technology to image this photopolymer. The author selected the Hell Chromagraph 399 ER Laser Scanner as a digital imaging source to image onto this photopolymer. After enormous efforts in the experiments, the argon ion laser on the Hell 399 ER was not able to image onto this photopolymer regardless of the laser intensity and the length of the exposure time because the spectral sensitivity of this photopolymer did not match the argon ion laser. The author, however, conducted further experiments to prove that this photopolymer can be imaged by a high-power UV-argon ion laser, but it is, at present, impractical for gravure printers. Some recommendations for further studies in this area are suggested

Investigation of remote sensing techniques as inputs to operational resource management

The author has identified the following significant results. Visual interpretation of 1:125,000 color LANDSAT prints produced timely level 1 maps of accuracies in excess of 80% for agricultural land identification. Accurate classification of agricultural land via digital analysis of LANDSAT CCT's required precise timing of the date of data collection with mid to late June optimum for western South Dakota. The LANDSAT repetitive nine day cycle over the state allowed the surface areas of stockdams and small reservoir systems to be monitored to provide a timely approximation of surface water conditions on the range. Combined use of DIRS, K-class, and LANDSAT CCT's demonstrated the ability to produce aspen maps of greater detail and timeliness than was available using US Forest Service maps. Visual temporal analyses of LANDSAT imagery improved highway map drainage information and were used to prepare a seven county drainage network. An optimum map of flood-prone areas was developed, utilizing high altitude aerial photography and USGS maps

Teachers guide for building and operating weather satellite ground stations for high school science

A number of colleges and universities are operating APT direct readout stations. However, high school science teachers have often failed to realize the potential of meteorological satellites and their products as unique instructional tools. The ability to receive daily pictures from these satellites offers exciting opportunities for secondary school teachers and students to assemble the electronic hardware and to view real time pictures of Earth from outer space. The station and pictures can be used in the classroom to develop an approach to science teaching that could span many scientific disciplines and offer many opportunities for student research and participation in scientific processes. This can be accomplished with relatively small expenditures of funds for equipment. In most schools some of the equipment may already be available. Others can be constructed by teachers and/or students. Yet another source might be the purchase of used equipment from industry or through the government surplus channels. The information necessary for individuals unfamiliar with these systems to construct a direct readout for receiving real time APT photographs on a daily basis in the classroom is presented

Feasibility study on the design of a probe for rectal cancer detection

Rectal examination techniques are considered in terms of detection capability, patient acceptance, and cost reduction. A review of existing clinical techniques are considered in terms of detection capability, patient acceptance, and cost reduction. A review of existing clinical techniques and of relevant aerospace technology included evaluation of the applicability of visual, thermal, ultrasound, and radioisotope modalities of examination. The desired improvements can be obtained by redesigning the proctosigmoidoscope to have reduced size, additional visibility, and the capability of readily providing a color photograph of the entire rectosigmoid mucosa in a single composite view

Fundementals of digital imaging

This thesis project shows that conventional photography and digital imaging are two visual media with very distinct differences: A conventional photograph is a human-readable information entity with an actual physical body in the form of silver clusters or color molecules embedded in gelatin. Silver halide materials have a chemical attribute and are organic, almost living organisms affected by heat, moisture, light and pollution, similar as we are. The actual information contained in a photographic image is always overlaid by an unwanted signal called noise. In conventional photography noise becomes visual as graininess. The amount of information in a photographic image cannot be determined exactly and there is always a significant loss of information from image generation to image generation (multiple generation loss). Because objects record themselves on light sensitive silver halide materials using light as a messenger, a photographic image is directly connected to reality, stenciled from the real. This fact is one of the reasons why photography as a medium has a high level of credibility. Despite all the medium inherent subjective, selective and abstractive factors, photography still has the stamp of an objective and reliable source of information, a stamp of authenticity. A digital image is an immaterial, machine-readable stream of bits in the form of a matrix. This numeric structure can be easily altered and manipulated, not only in the space but also in the frequency domain. The solid bond which connects the conventional photographic image to reality disappears with digital imagery. The image is simply itself, has no chemical attribute, and contains no evidence that something existed in reality. The amount of information in a digital image can be exactly determined. However, there is also a certain amount of noise present which, however, cannot be compared with the graininess of photographic materials. Digital information can be compressed with or without a visual loss. Transmission of digital information is easier and more reliable because the information can be error corrected. More than 150 years after the discovery of the photographic process, the wide availability of the tools of digital imaging make it clear to the public that mechanical images are not, and never have been, a reliable source of information. This thesis project points out that the belief in the objectivity of photographic information was, and is, an illusion. The thesis project Fundamentals of Digital Imaging analyzes the basic concepts of digital imaging not only theoretically but also visually by including six plates of digital artwork

Accurate and Computational: A review of color reproduction in Full-color 3D printing

As functional 3D printing becomes more popular with industrial manufacturing applications, it is time to start discussing high-fidelity appearance reproduction of 3D objects, particularly in faithful colors. To date, there is only limited research on accurate color reproduction and on universal color reproduction method for different color 3D printing materials. To systematically understand colorization principles and color transmission in color 3D printing, an exhaustive literature review is stated to show the state of the art of color reproduction methods for full-color 3D printing, such as optical parameter modeling, colorimetric difference evaluation, computer aided colorization and voxel droplet jetting. Meanwhile, the challenges in developing an accurate color reproduction framework suitable for different printing materials are fully analyzed in this literature review. In full-color 3D printing, coloring, rendering and acquisition constitute the core issues for accurate color reproduction, and their specific concepts are explained in concrete examples. Finally, the future perspectives of a universal color reproduction framework for accurate full-color 3D printing are discussed, which can overcome the limitations of printing materials, combined with computational boundary contoning

Biology of Pentalonia nigronervosa and Its Efficiency as a Vector of Banana Bunchy Top Virus After Being Bred in Rat Taro (Typhonium flagelliforme)

P. nigronervosa is an insect that acts as a vector of the Banana Bunchy Top Virus causing the affected banana  to become stunted and even fruitless. This study aimed to find out the biology of P. nigronervosa in rat taro as well as its  ability or efficiency in the transmission of BBTV disease in bananas after being treated. The study was experimenta, trying to find out the efficiency of BBTV transmission by P. nigronervosa after being transmitted to the plant of rat taro (T. flagelliforme) with  the variables of observation and  the taking of biological  data  of Pentalonia nigronervosa  in the rat taro plant, Observation of the development of BBTV disease in banana plants inoculated from the first symptoms until the typical phenomenon of bunchy top was formed. Biology of P.  nigronervosa in  rat taro. Each stage of the four color instars and The size of the nymph of P. nigronervosa changed. When entering the first brownish-white instar with a length of 0.61 to 0.69 mm, in the 2nd instar it was light brown with a length of 0.71 to 0.83 mm, then in the 3rd instar it was reddish brown with an average length of 0.87 mm, and in the 4th instar  it was blackish brown with an average body length of 1.31 mm. The imago color was still blackish brown, and in this phase it usually had wings, but in the treatment of the imago rat taro plant, it had no wings, and the average body length was 1.43 mm. In the field tests, the rat taro plants could not inhibit the spread of BBTV disease but could be an alternative host for P. nigronervosa ticks