Advanced photonic and electronic systems - WILGA 2017

WILGA annual symposium on advanced photonic and electronic systems has been organized by young scientist for young scientists since two decades. It traditionally gathers more than 350 young researchers and their tutors. Ph.D students and graduates present their recent achievements during well attended oral sessions. Wilga is a very good digest of Ph.D. works carried out at technical universities in electronics and photonics, as well as information sciences throughout Poland and some neighboring countries. Publishing patronage over Wilga keep Elektronika technical journal by SEP, IJET by PAN and Proceedings of SPIE. The latter world editorial series publishes annually more than 200 papers from Wilga. Wilga 2017 was the XL edition of this meeting. The following topical tracks were distinguished: photonics, electronics, information technologies and system research. The article is a digest of some chosen works presented during Wilga 2017 symposium. WILGA 2017 works were published in Proc. SPIE vol.10445

Final Report Buffalo National River Ecosystems Part IV

Sampling point locations and analytical procedures remained unchanged from those outlined in previous Buffalo National River Ecosystem reports. The only significant change in analytical procedures was a reversion to the glass fiber filter method for collection and extraction of samples for chlorophyll analysis. This change was neeessitated by a need for filtering a larger volume to obtain enough chlorophyll for an accurate measurement. Samples were collected monthly from April 9 through December 30. No samples were taken in January or February due to the extremely uncertain traveling conditions caused by the frequent snows. Prior research indicates that the December 30 sample is sufficiently reflective of stable winter conditions to obviate the need for more winter samples (see previous reports)

КРИОГЕНЕЗ И ГЕОДИНАМИКА НАЛЕДНЫХ УЧАСТКОВ РЕЧНЫХ ДОЛИН

Due to local groundwater seeping and freezing in layers that accumulate over each other and create large ice clusters on the ground surface, specific conditions of energy and mass transfer are created in the atmosphere–soil–lithosphere system. In winter, the vertical temperature distribution curve is significantly deformed due to heat emission from the water layer above the ice cover during its freezing, and a thermocline is thus formed. Deformation of the temperature curve is gradually decreasing in size downward the profile and decays at the interface of frozen and thaw rocks. Values and numbers of temperature deviations from a 'normal' value depend on heat reserves of aufeis water and the number of water seeps/discharges at a given location. The production of the thermocline alters freezing conditions for underlying ground layers and changes the mechanism of ice saturation, thus leading to formation of two-layer ice-ground complexes (IGC). IGCs are drastically different from cryogenic formations in the neighbouring sections of the river valley. Based on genetic characteristics and the ratios of components in the surface and subsurface layers, seven types of aufeis IGCs are distinguished: massive-segregation, cement-basal, layered-segregation, basal-segregation, vacuum-filtration, pressure-injection, and fissure-vein. Annual processes of surface and subsurface icing and ice ablation are accompanied by highly hazardous geodynamic phenomena, such as winter flooding, layered water freezing, soil heaving/pingo, thermokarst and thermal erosion. Combined, these processes lead to rapid and often incidental reconfigurations of the surface and subsurface runoff channels, abrupt uplifting and subsiding of the ground surface, decompaction and 'shaking-up' of seasonally freezing/thawing rocks, thereby producing exceptionally unfavourable conditions for construction and operation of engineering structures.Formation and development of river networks are heavily influenced by aufeis deposits and processes taking place at the aufeis surfaces, especially in areas of discontinuous and continuous permafrost where an average thickness of the ice cover on rivers ranges from 1.0 to 2.5 m, and the major part of the ice cover is accumulated layer by layer due to freezing of discharged groundwater. In the permafrost zone, the intensity of cryogenic channelling is clearly cyclical, and the cycles depend on accumulation of aufeis ice above the river level during the autumn low-water period. Five stages of cryogenic channelling are distinguished: I – pre-glacial development, II – transgression, III – stabilization, IV – regression, and V – post-glacial development. Each stage is characterised by a specific glaciohydrological regime of runoff channels and their specific shapes, sizes and spatial patterns.The channel network is subject to the maximum transformation in aufeis development stages III and IV, when the transit flow channel is split into several shallow-water branches, producing a complicated plan pattern of the terrain. In the mature aufeis glades, there are sites undergoing various development stages, which gives evidence that aufeis channelling is variable in a wide range in both space and time. With respect to sizes of aufeis glades, river flow capacities and geological, geomorphological, cryo-hydrogeological conditions, aufeis patterns of the channel network are classified into five types as follows: fan-shaped, cone-shaped, treelike, reticular, and longitudinal-insular types. The aufeis channel network is a reliable indicator of intensity of both recent and ancient geodynamic processes in the cryolithozone.In Siberia and the Far East, the aufeis deposits are much larger, more numerous and more important in terms of morpholithology in comparison with the 'classical' (sedimentary metamorphic) icing structures. The more contrasting is the terrain, the more active are neotectonic movements, the lower is the mean annual air temperature, and the higher is the annual percentage of the territory covered by aufeis ice. The aufeis ratio of the permafrost zone is determined from parameters of over 10000 ice fields and amounts to 0.66 % (50000 km2). In mountains and tablelands, the total area of aufeis deposits amounts to 40000 km2, and the number of ice clusters (0.77 km2 in average) exceeds 60000. On the rivers up to 500 km long, the aufeis size depends on the stream rank. In all the natural zones, the majority of gigantic aufeis spots produced by groundwater are located in river valleys of ranks 3 and 4. The square area of aufeis deposits of mixed feed, i.e. produced by river water and groundwater, which occupy the entire river channel, yet do not go beyond the floodplain, amounts to 68000 km2, i.e. by a factor of 1.7 larger than the area of all the aufeis deposits (taryns). The cumulative channel-forming effect of aufeis phenomena is expressed by an increment in the channel network relative to characteristics of the river segments located upstream and downstream of the aufeis glade. This indicator is well correlated with the aufeis ratios of the river basins, morphostructural and cryo-hydrometeorological conditions of the territory under study. The incremental length of the channel network, ρn per one groundwater aufeis deposit is increased, in average, from 3.5 km in mountains in the southern regions of East Siberia to 23 km in the Verkhoyansk-Kolyma mountain system and Chukotka. The value of ρn is decreased to 2.2 km in the plains and intermountain depressions of the Baikal rift system where the average dimensions of the ice fields are smaller. An average incremental length of the channel network per one large groundwater aufeis deposit amounts to 12.2 km, and the total incremental length in continuous and discontinuous permafrost areas (F=7.6 mln km2) is estimated at 690000 km.Combined impacts of aufeis and icing processes on underlying rocks and the channel network is a specific (aufeis) form of cryogenic morpholithogenesis that is typical of regions with inclement climate and harsh environment. A more detailed research of these processes is required, including large-scale aerospace surveys, monitoring and observations on special aufeis polygons.Локализованный выход подземных вод на поверхности земли, их намораживание в виде крупных ледяных массивов создают специфические условия энерго- и массообмена в системе атмосфера – почва – литосфера. Зимой кривая вертикального распределения температур существенно деформируется за счет выделения тепла наледным слоем воды при его промерзании, при этом образуется своеобразный термоклин. Деформация температурной кривой, постепенно уменьшаясь в размерах, смещается вниз по разрезу и затухает на границе мерзлых и талых горных пород. Величина и количество отклонений температуры от «нормального» положения зависят от теплозапаса наледеобразующих вод и числа излияний в заданной точке пространства. Появление термоклина изменяет условия промерзания подстилающих грунтов и механизм их льдонасыщения, приводит к формированию двухъярусных ледогрунтовых комплексов (ЛГК), резко отличных от криогенных отложений смежных участков долины. По генетическим особенностям и соотношению составных частей наземного и подземного ярусов описано семь типов наледных ЛГК – массивно-сегрегационный, цементно-базальный, слоисто-сегрегационный, базально-сегрегационный, вакуум-фильтрационный, напорно-инъекционный и трещинно-жильный. Ежегодное формирование и разрушение наледей и подземных льдов сопровождается чередой особо опасных геодинамических явлений, среди которых ведущее место занимают зимнее затопление территории, намораживание воды, пучение грунтов, термокарст и термоэрозия. Совокупность этих процессов приводит к быстрому, часто неожиданному переформированию каналов поверхностного и подземного стока, резкому поднятию и опусканию земной поверхности, разуплотнению и «перетряхиванию» сезоннопротаивающих и сезоннопромерзающих горных пород, что создает крайне неблагоприятные условия для строительства и эксплуатации инженерных сооружений.Наледи и наледные процессы оказывают влияние на формирование и развитие речной сети. Наиболее широко оно проявляется в областях прерывистого и сплошного распространения вечной мерзлоты, где средняя толщина льда на реках колеблется в пределах 1.0–2.5 м, а основная часть ледяного покрова формируется за счет намораживания излившихся подземных вод. Интенсивность криогенного руслообразования в криолитозоне носит ярко выраженный цикличный характер, зависящий от превышения наледного льда над урезом реки в осеннюю межень. Описаны пять стадий криогенного руслогенеза: 1) предгляциальная, 2) трансгрессивная, 3) стабилизационная, 4) регрессивная и 5) постгляциальная. Каждой стадии соответствует определенный гляциогидрологический режим каналов стока, их форма, размеры и пространственное распределение.Максимальная трансформация русловой сети происходит в третью и четвертую стадию развития наледных долин, когда русло транзитного потока разбивается на ряд мелководных рукавов, создающих сложный плановый рисунок местности. На зрелых наледных полянах выделяются участки, находящиеся на разных стадиях развития, что свидетельствует о широком диапазоне изменчивости наледного руслогенеза в пространстве и времени. В зависимости от размеров наледей, водности реки, геолого-геоморфологических и мерзлотно-гидрогеологических условий выделено пять видов наледной структуры русловой сети: веерообразная, конусовидная, древовидная, сетчатая и продольно-островная. Наледная русловая сеть может служить надежным показателем интенсивности геодинамических процессов в криолитозоне, как современных, так и древних.По количеству, размерам и морфолитогенетическому значению наледи Сибири и Дальнего Востока многократно превышают «классическую» (осадочно-метаморфическую) форму оледенения. Чем контрастнее рельеф местности, активнее неотектонические движения и ниже среднегодовая температура воздуха, тем выше процент территории, ежегодно занимаемой наледным льдом. Относительная наледность криолитозоны, определенная с учетом параметров более 10000 ледяных полей составляет 0.66 % (50000 км2). В горах и на плоскогорьях суммарная площадь наледей равна 40000 км2, а число ледяных массивов со средней площадью 0.770 км2 превышает 60000. На реках длиной до 500 км размеры наледей зависят от порядка водотоков. Наибольшее количество гигантских наледей подземных вод во всех природных зонах располагается в долинах рек 3–4-го порядка. Площадь наледей смешанного питания (речных и подземных вод), занимающих все русло реки, но не выходящих за границу обычной поймы, составляет 68000 км2 – в 1.7 раза больше, чем все наледи-тарыны. Кумулятивный руслообразующий эффект наледных явлений выражается величиной прироста русловой сети по отношению к участкам реки выше и ниже наледной поляны. Этот показатель находится в хорошей корреляционной связи с наледностью речных бассейнов, морфоструктурными и мерзлотно-гидрогеологическими условиями территории. Прирост русловой сети ρn, приходящийся на одну наледь подземных вод, в среднем увеличивается от 3.5 км в горах юга Восточной Сибири до 23 км в Верхояно-Колымской горной стране и на Чукотке. На равнинах и в пределах межгорных котловин Байкальской рифтовой системы величина ρn снижается до 2.2 км, что связано с уменьшением средних размеров ледяных полей. В среднем прирост русловой сети на одну крупную наледь подземных вод составляет 12.2 км, а общий прирост в области сплошной и прерывистой вечной мерзлоты (F=7.6 млн км2) оценивается в 690 тыс. км.Совокупность воздействия наледей и наледных процессов на подстилающие горные породы и русловую сеть есть особая (наледная) форма криогенного морфолитогенеза, характерная для регионов с суровыми природно-климатическими условиями. Дальнейшее ее изучение требкет крупномасштабных аэрокосмических съемок и режимных наблюдений на специальных наледных полигонах.

A Guide for selecting big data analytics tools in an organisation

Selection of appropriate big data analytics (BDA) tools (software) for business purposes is increasingly challenging, which sometimes lead to incompatibility with existing technologies. This becomes prohibitive in attempts to execute some functions or activities in an environment. The objective of this study was to propose a model, which can be used to guide the selection of BDA in an organization. The interpretivist approach was employed. Qualitative data was collected and analyzed using the hermeneutics approach. The analysis focused on examining and gaining better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the most common BDA tools. The technical and non-technical factors that influence the selection of BDA were identified. Based on which a solution is proposed in the form of a model. The model is intended to guide selection of most appropriate BDA tools in an organization. The model is intended to increase BDA usefulness towards improving organization’s competitiveness

People counting system using existing surveillance video camera

The Casa da Música Foundation, responsible for the management of Casa da Música do Porto building, has the need to obtain statistical data related to the number of building’s visitors. This information is a valuable tool for the elaboration of periodical reports concerning the success of this cultural institution. For this reason it was necessary to develop a system capable of returning the number of visitors for a requested period of time. This represents a complex task due to the building’s unique architectural design, characterized by very large doors and halls, and the sudden large number of people that pass through them in moments preceding and proceeding the different activities occurring in the building. To achieve the technical solution for this challenge, several image processing methods, for people detection with still cameras, were first studied. The next step was the development of a real time algorithm, using OpenCV libraries and computer vision concepts,to count individuals with the desired accuracy. This algorithm includes the scientific and technical knowledge acquired in the study of the previous methods. The themes developed in this thesis comprise the fields of background maintenance, shadow and highlight detection, and blob detection and tracking. A graphical interface was also built, to help on the development, test and tunning of the proposed system, as a complement to the work. Furthermore, tests to the system were also performed, to certify the proposed techniques against a set of limited circumstances. The results obtained revealed that the algorithm was successfully applied to count the number of people in complex environments with reliable accuracy.A Fundação Casa da Música, responsável pela gestão do edifício da Casa da Música, tem a necessidade de obter dados estatísticos relativos ao número de visitantes. Esta informação é uma ferramenta valiosa para a elaboração periódica de relatórios de afluência para a avaliação do sucesso desta instituição cultural. Por este motivo existe a necessidade da elaboração de um sistema capaz de fornecer o número de visitantes para um determinado período de tempo. Esta tarefa é dificultada pelas características arquitetônicas, únicas do edifício, com portas largas e amplos halls, e devido ao súbito número de pessoas que passam por estas áreas em momentos que antecedem e procedem concertos, ou qualquer outras actividades. Para alcançar uma solução técnica para este desafio foi inicialmente elaborado um estado da arte relativo a métodos de processamento de imagem para deteção de pessoas com câmeras de vídeo. O passo seguinte foi, utilizando bibliotecas de OpenCV e conceitos de visão computacional, o desenvolvimento de um algoritmo em tempo real para contar pessoas com a precisão desejada. Este algoritmo inclui o conhecimento científico e técnico adquirido em métodos previamente estudados. Os temas desenvolvidos nesta tese compreendem os campos de manutenção do fundo, deteção de zonas sub e sobre iluminadas e deteção e seguimento de blobs. Foi também construida uma interface gráfica para ajudar o desenvolvimento, teste e afinação do sistema proposto como complemento ao trabalho desenvolvido. Além disso, perante um conjunto limitado de circunstâncias, foram efectuados testes ao sistema em ordem a certificar as técnicas propostas. Os resultados obtidos revelaram que o algoritmo foi aplicado com sucesso para contar pessoas em ambientes complexos com precisão

Enhancing a Neurosurgical Imaging System with a PC-based Video Processing Solution

This work presents a PC-based prototype video processing application developed to be used with a specific neurosurgical imaging device, the OPMI® PenteroTM operating microscope, in the Department of Neurosurgery of Helsinki University Central Hospital at Töölö, Helsinki. The motivation for implementing the software was the lack of some clinically important features in the imaging system provided by the microscope. The imaging system is used as an online diagnostic aid during surgery. The microscope has two internal video cameras; one for regular white light imaging and one for near-infrared fluorescence imaging, used for indocyanine green videoangiography. The footage of the microscope’s current imaging mode is accessed via the composite auxiliary output of the device. The microscope also has an external high resolution white light video camera, accessed via a composite output of a separate video hub. The PC was chosen as the video processing platform for its unparalleled combination of prototyping and high-throughput video processing capabilities. A thorough analysis of the platform and efficient video processing methods was conducted in the thesis and the results were used in the design of the imaging station. The features found feasible during the project were incorporated into a video processing application running on a GNU/Linux distribution Ubuntu. The clinical usefulness of the implemented features was ensured beforehand by consulting the neurosurgeons using the original system. The most significant shortcomings of the original imaging system were mended in this work. The key features of the developed application include: live streaming, simultaneous streaming and recording, and playing back of upto two video streams. The playback mode provides full media player controls, with a frame-by-frame precision rewinding, in an intuitive and responsive interface. A single view and a side-by-side comparison mode are provided for the streams. The former gives more detail, while the latter can be used, for example, for before-after and anatomic-angiographic comparisons.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Programmable Image-Based Light Capture for Previsualization

Previsualization is a class of techniques for creating approximate previews of a movie sequence in order to visualize a scene prior to shooting it on the set. Often these techniques are used to convey the artistic direction of the story in terms of cinematic elements, such as camera movement, angle, lighting, dialogue, and character motion. Essentially, a movie director uses previsualization (previs) to convey movie visuals as he sees them in his minds-eye . Traditional methods for previs include hand-drawn sketches, Storyboards, scaled models, and photographs, which are created by artists to convey how a scene or character might look or move. A recent trend has been to use 3D graphics applications such as video game engines to perform previs, which is called 3D previs. This type of previs is generally used prior to shooting a scene in order to choreograph camera or character movements. To visualize a scene while being recorded on-set, directors and cinematographers use a technique called On-set previs, which provides a real-time view with little to no processing. Other types of previs, such as Technical previs, emphasize accurately capturing scene properties but lack any interactive manipulation and are usually employed by visual effects crews and not for cinematographers or directors. This dissertation\u27s focus is on creating a new method for interactive visualization that will automatically capture the on-set lighting and provide interactive manipulation of cinematic elements to facilitate the movie maker\u27s artistic expression, validate cinematic choices, and provide guidance to production crews. Our method will overcome the drawbacks of the all previous previs methods by combining photorealistic rendering with accurately captured scene details, which is interactively displayed on a mobile capture and rendering platform. This dissertation describes a new hardware and software previs framework that enables interactive visualization of on-set post-production elements. A three-tiered framework, which is the main contribution of this dissertation is; 1) a novel programmable camera architecture that provides programmability to low-level features and a visual programming interface, 2) new algorithms that analyzes and decomposes the scene photometrically, and 3) a previs interface that leverages the previous to perform interactive rendering and manipulation of the photometric and computer generated elements. For this dissertation we implemented a programmable camera with a novel visual programming interface. We developed the photometric theory and implementation of our novel relighting technique called Symmetric lighting, which can be used to relight a scene with multiple illuminants with respect to color, intensity and location on our programmable camera. We analyzed the performance of Symmetric lighting on synthetic and real scenes to evaluate the benefits and limitations with respect to the reflectance composition of the scene and the number and color of lights within the scene. We found that, since our method is based on a Lambertian reflectance assumption, our method works well under this assumption but that scenes with high amounts of specular reflections can have higher errors in terms of relighting accuracy and additional steps are required to mitigate this limitation. Also, scenes which contain lights whose colors are a too similar can lead to degenerate cases in terms of relighting. Despite these limitations, an important contribution of our work is that Symmetric lighting can also be leveraged as a solution for performing multi-illuminant white balancing and light color estimation within a scene with multiple illuminants without limits on the color range or number of lights. We compared our method to other white balance methods and show that our method is superior when at least one of the light colors is known a priori

Assessment of freezing desalination technologies.

The production of both fresh water and waste streams are progressively increasing over the years due to ongoing population growth coupled with high levels of increase in water consumption. The ongoing growth of human activities, such as industry, recreation, and agriculture, are significantly contributing to the increase in both water demand and severity of degradation of natural water resources. The majority of the industrial wastewaters have a significant impact on the environment; some of which may pose a number of threats to human health and the surrounding environment. Thus, discharge of such waste streams into a surface water and/or groundwater presents a major source of water pollution in many countries. Therefore, these waste streams must be disposed of in an environmentally acceptable manner. The primary concern of the PhD thesis is to seek the most feasible and applicable freezing desalination technologies that are potentially capable to concentrate the dissolved ionic content of the liquid streams, especially for those causing severe pollution problems. Therefore, various forms of melt crystallisation processes, namely; agitated and static crystallisation processes, ice maker machines, a Sulzer falling film crystallisation process, the Sulzer suspension crystallisation process, and the Sulzer static crystallisation process, were experimentally used and investigated. The experimental investigations were carried out on the laboratory bench scale and/or straightforward pilot plant by using aqueous solutions of sodium chloride and/or process brines as feed samples. The study was focused on a number of important parameters influencing the separation performance of the investigated treatment systems. In general, the resulting experimental data for each innovative process were highly encouraging in minimising the volume of the waste stream, and substantially increasing the amount of product water. The obtained product water was ready for immediate use either as drinking water or as a saline water of near brackish water or seawater qualities. Also, relationships between the influences and the separation performance, in terms of salt rejection and water recovery ratios, were explored and determined for the investigated technologies. Based on the experimental results, the Sulzer melt crystallisation processes were scaled up and were combined into a commercial reverse osmosis membrane desalination plant. As a result, three novel treatment option configurations were proposed for minimising the waste stream, whilst increasing the production rate of drinking water and/or preserving a substantial amount of natural water resource from the RO plant's exploitation

Application And Optimization Of Membrane Processes Treating Brackish And Surficial Groundwater For Potable Water Production

The research presented in this dissertation provides the results of a comprehensive assessment of the water treatment requirements for the City of Sarasota. The City’s drinking water supply originates from two sources: (1) brackish groundwater from the Downtown well field, and (2) Floridan surficial groundwater from the City’s Verna well field. At the time the study was initiated, the City treated the brackish water supply using a reverse osmosis process that relied on sulfuric acid for pH adjustment as a pretreatment method. The Verna supply was aerated at the well field before transfer to the City’s water treatment facility, either for softening using an ion exchange process, or for final blending before supply. For the first phase of the study to evaluate whether the City can operate its brackish groundwater RO process without acid pretreatment, a three-step approach was undertaken that involved: (1) pilot testing the plan to reduce the dependence on acid, (2) implementing the plan on the fullscale system with conservative pH increments, and (3) continuous screening for scale formation potential by means of a “canary” monitoring device. Implementation of the study was successful and the annual savings in operating expenditure to the City is projected to be about $120,000. From the acid elimination study, using the relationship between electrical conductivity in water and total dissolved solids in water samples tested, a dynamic approach to evaluate the performance of the reverse osmosis plant was developed. This trending approach uses the mass transfer coefficient principles of the Homogeneous Solution Diffusion Model. Empirical models iv were also developed to predict mass transfer coefficients for solutes in terms of total dissolved solids and sodium. In the second phase of the study, the use of nanofiltration technology to treat aerated Verna well field water was investigated. The goal was to replace the City’s existing ion exchange process for the removal of hardness and total dissolved solids. Different pretreatment options were evaluated for the nanofiltration pilot to remove colloidal sulfur formed during pre-aeration of the groundwater. Sandfilters and ultrafiltration technology were evaluated as pretreatment. The sandfilter was inadequate as a pre-screen to the nanofiltration pilot. The ultrafiltration pilot (with and without a sandfilter as a pre-screen) proved to be an adequate pretreatment to remove particulates and colloids, especially the sulfur colloids in the surficial groundwater source. The nanofiltration pilot, was shown to be an efficient softening process for the Verna well field water, but it was impacted by biofoulants like algae. The algae growth was downstream of the ultrafiltration process, and so chlorination was used in the feed stream of the ultrafiltration process with dechlorination in the nanofiltration feed stream using excess bisulfite to achieve stable operations. Non-phosphonate based scale inhibitors were also used to reduce the availability of nutrients for biofilm growth on the nanofiltration membranes. The combined ultrafiltration-nanofiltration option for treatment of the highly fouling Verna water samples is feasible with chlorination (to control biofouling) and subsequent dechlorination. Alternatively, the study has shown that the City can also more economically and more reliably use ultrafiltration technology to filter all water from its Verna well field and use its current ion exchange process for removal of excess hardness in the water that it supplie