849 research outputs found

    Advances and Applications of DSmT for Information Fusion. Collected Works, Volume 5

    Get PDF
    This fifth volume on Advances and Applications of DSmT for Information Fusion collects theoretical and applied contributions of researchers working in different fields of applications and in mathematics, and is available in open-access. The collected contributions of this volume have either been published or presented after disseminating the fourth volume in 2015 in international conferences, seminars, workshops and journals, or they are new. The contributions of each part of this volume are chronologically ordered. First Part of this book presents some theoretical advances on DSmT, dealing mainly with modified Proportional Conflict Redistribution Rules (PCR) of combination with degree of intersection, coarsening techniques, interval calculus for PCR thanks to set inversion via interval analysis (SIVIA), rough set classifiers, canonical decomposition of dichotomous belief functions, fast PCR fusion, fast inter-criteria analysis with PCR, and improved PCR5 and PCR6 rules preserving the (quasi-)neutrality of (quasi-)vacuous belief assignment in the fusion of sources of evidence with their Matlab codes. Because more applications of DSmT have emerged in the past years since the apparition of the fourth book of DSmT in 2015, the second part of this volume is about selected applications of DSmT mainly in building change detection, object recognition, quality of data association in tracking, perception in robotics, risk assessment for torrent protection and multi-criteria decision-making, multi-modal image fusion, coarsening techniques, recommender system, levee characterization and assessment, human heading perception, trust assessment, robotics, biometrics, failure detection, GPS systems, inter-criteria analysis, group decision, human activity recognition, storm prediction, data association for autonomous vehicles, identification of maritime vessels, fusion of support vector machines (SVM), Silx-Furtif RUST code library for information fusion including PCR rules, and network for ship classification. Finally, the third part presents interesting contributions related to belief functions in general published or presented along the years since 2015. These contributions are related with decision-making under uncertainty, belief approximations, probability transformations, new distances between belief functions, non-classical multi-criteria decision-making problems with belief functions, generalization of Bayes theorem, image processing, data association, entropy and cross-entropy measures, fuzzy evidence numbers, negator of belief mass, human activity recognition, information fusion for breast cancer therapy, imbalanced data classification, and hybrid techniques mixing deep learning with belief functions as well

    A Cultural History of Representational Shifts Toward Occidentalism

    Get PDF
    In 1978, Edward Said redefined Orientalism as a Western interpretation of the Middle East best characterized by an inherent cultural hostility. It’s essence, he declared, was the invariable distinction between Western superiority and Eastern inferiority. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, however, cultural critics Darrell Y. Hamamoto (2000), Vijay Prashad (2000), Jane Chi Hyun Park (2010), Jane Naomi Iwamura (2011), and David Weir (2011) have shed light on America’s long fascination with the Far East and more affirmative forms of Orientalism. Building on their work, I map developments of Far Orientalism on American screens at the turn of the century from an evolutionary perspective. In three case studies, I read audiovisual texts in their sociohistorical and media ecological contexts to trace representational shifts from the 1980s to the 2010s. Since the intersection of race and sex is significant for any discussion of Orientalism, I am mostly concerned with narratives featuring interracial romance. The first case study focuses on Michael Cimino’s crime thriller film Year of the Dragon (1985). My analysis is embedded in an examination of contemporary films related to the Vietnam War as well as the emergence of both the Model Minority myth and the redemption narrative. The next chapter is concerned largely with contextualizing Edward Zwick’s epic historical drama film The Last Samurai (2003) within the genre histories of both the American Western and the Japanese Eastern. These efforts culminate in investigations of the ways of how the film relates to the popularization of Buddhism and reworks the White Savior trope. The final case study offers an analysis of Ronald D. Moore’s science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica (2004-09) on the background of the rise of neoliberal economic policy and transhumanist philosophy as well as in relation to assimilation narratives and the genre history of cyberpunk. My research results demonstrate a trend from classic Orientalism to Techno-Orientalism, Spirito-Occidentalism, and outright Occidentalism. In the American imagination, I argue, East Asia has come to represent both the worst expression of modernity and the solution to its dehumanizing side. Neither have stereotypes been shattered nor has the geographical dualism been shed. Older fantasies merely have been complemented by more recent variations. I consider this study to be an extension of Said’s studies of Orientalism as well as a contribution to the fields of American cultural history, Asian American studies and, to a lesser extent, postcolonial studies, gender studies, and media studies

    Introduction to Facial Micro Expressions Analysis Using Color and Depth Images: A Matlab Coding Approach (Second Edition, 2023)

    Full text link
    The book attempts to introduce a gentle introduction to the field of Facial Micro Expressions Recognition (FMER) using Color and Depth images, with the aid of MATLAB programming environment. FMER is a subset of image processing and it is a multidisciplinary topic to analysis. So, it requires familiarity with other topics of Artifactual Intelligence (AI) such as machine learning, digital image processing, psychology and more. So, it is a great opportunity to write a book which covers all of these topics for beginner to professional readers in the field of AI and even without having background of AI. Our goal is to provide a standalone introduction in the field of MFER analysis in the form of theorical descriptions for readers with no background in image processing with reproducible Matlab practical examples. Also, we describe any basic definitions for FMER analysis and MATLAB library which is used in the text, that helps final reader to apply the experiments in the real-world applications. We believe that this book is suitable for students, researchers, and professionals alike, who need to develop practical skills, along with a basic understanding of the field. We expect that, after reading this book, the reader feels comfortable with different key stages such as color and depth image processing, color and depth image representation, classification, machine learning, facial micro-expressions recognition, feature extraction and dimensionality reduction. The book attempts to introduce a gentle introduction to the field of Facial Micro Expressions Recognition (FMER) using Color and Depth images, with the aid of MATLAB programming environment.Comment: This is the second edition of the boo

    Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Meets Deep Learning

    Get PDF
    This reprint focuses on the application of the combination of synthetic aperture radars and depth learning technology. It aims to further promote the development of SAR image intelligent interpretation technology. A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is an important active microwave imaging sensor, whose all-day and all-weather working capacity give it an important place in the remote sensing community. Since the United States launched the first SAR satellite, SAR has received much attention in the remote sensing community, e.g., in geological exploration, topographic mapping, disaster forecast, and traffic monitoring. It is valuable and meaningful, therefore, to study SAR-based remote sensing applications. In recent years, deep learning represented by convolution neural networks has promoted significant progress in the computer vision community, e.g., in face recognition, the driverless field and Internet of things (IoT). Deep learning can enable computational models with multiple processing layers to learn data representations with multiple-level abstractions. This can greatly improve the performance of various applications. This reprint provides a platform for researchers to handle the above significant challenges and present their innovative and cutting-edge research results when applying deep learning to SAR in various manuscript types, e.g., articles, letters, reviews and technical reports

    Development of Bridge Information Model (BrIM) for digital twinning and management using TLS technology

    Get PDF
    In the current modern era of information and technology, the concept of Building Information Model (BIM), has made revolutionary changes in different aspects of engineering design, construction, and management of infrastructure assets, especially bridges. In the field of bridge engineering, Bridge Information Model (BrIM), as a specific form of BIM, includes digital twining of the physical asset associated with geometrical inspections and non-geometrical data, which has eliminated the use of traditional paper-based documentation and hand-written reports, enabling professionals and managers to operate more efficiently and effectively. However, concerns remain about the quality of the acquired inspection data and utilizing BrIM information for remedial decisions in a reliable Bridge Management System (BMS) which are still reliant on the knowledge and experience of the involved inspectors, or asset manager, and are susceptible to a certain degree of subjectivity. Therefore, this research study aims not only to introduce the valuable benefits of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) as a precise, rapid, and qualitative inspection method, but also to serve a novel sliced-based approach for bridge geometric Computer-Aided Design (CAD) model extraction using TLS-based point cloud, and to contribute to BrIM development. Moreover, this study presents a comprehensive methodology for incorporating generated BrIM in a redeveloped element-based condition assessment model while integrating a Decision Support System (DSS) to propose an innovative BMS. This methodology was further implemented in a designed software plugin and validated by a real case study on the Werrington Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge in New South Wales, Australia. The finding of this research confirms the reliability of the TLS-derived 3D model in terms of quality of acquired data and accuracy of the proposed novel slice-based method, as well as BrIM implementation, and integration of the proposed BMS into the developed BrIM. Furthermore, the results of this study showed that the proposed integrated model addresses the subjective nature of decision-making by conducting a risk assessment and utilising structured decision-making tools for priority ranking of remedial actions. The findings demonstrated acceptable agreement in utilizing the proposed BMS for priority ranking of structural elements that require more attention, as well as efficient optimisation of remedial actions to preserve bridge health and safety

    Data ethics : building trust : how digital technologies can serve humanity

    Get PDF
    Data is the magic word of the 21st century. As oil in the 20th century and electricity in the 19th century: For citizens, data means support in daily life in almost all activities, from watch to laptop, from kitchen to car, from mobile phone to politics. For business and politics, data means power, dominance, winning the race. Data can be used for good and bad, for services and hacking, for medicine and arms race. How can we build trust in this complex and ambiguous data world? How can digital technologies serve humanity? The 45 articles in this book represent a broad range of ethical reflections and recommendations in eight sections: a) Values, Trust and Law, b) AI, Robots and Humans, c) Health and Neuroscience, d) Religions for Digital Justice, e) Farming, Business, Finance, f) Security, War, Peace, g) Data Governance, Geopolitics, h) Media, Education, Communication. The authors and institutions come from all continents. The book serves as reading material for teachers, students, policy makers, politicians, business, hospitals, NGOs and religious organisations alike. It is an invitation for dialogue, debate and building trust! The book is a continuation of the volume “Cyber Ethics 4.0” published in 2018 by the same editors

    Implementation of a real time Hough transform using FPGA technology

    Get PDF
    This thesis is concerned with the modelling, design and implementation of efficient architectures for performing the Hough Transform (HT) on mega-pixel resolution real-time images using Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology. Although the HT has been around for many years and a number of algorithms have been developed it still remains a significant bottleneck in many image processing applications. Even though, the basic idea of the HT is to locate curves in an image that can be parameterized: e.g. straight lines, polynomials or circles, in a suitable parameter space, the research presented in this thesis will focus only on location of straight lines on binary images. The HT algorithm uses an accumulator array (accumulator bins) to detect the existence of a straight line on an image. As the image needs to be binarized, a novel generic synchronization circuit for windowing operations was designed to perform edge detection. An edge detection method of special interest, the canny method, is used and the design and implementation of it in hardware is achieved in this thesis. As each image pixel can be implemented independently, parallel processing can be performed. However, the main disadvantage of the HT is the large storage and computational requirements. This thesis presents new and state-of-the-art hardware implementations for the minimization of the computational cost, using the Hybrid-Logarithmic Number System (Hybrid-LNS) for calculating the HT for fixed bit-width architectures. It is shown that using the Hybrid-LNS the computational cost is minimized, while the precision of the HT algorithm is maintained. Advances in FPGA technology now make it possible to implement functions as the HT in reconfigurable fabrics. Methods for storing large arrays on FPGA’s are presented, where data from a 1024 x 1024 pixel camera at a rate of up to 25 frames per second are processed

    Beyond Quantity: Research with Subsymbolic AI

    Get PDF
    How do artificial neural networks and other forms of artificial intelligence interfere with methods and practices in the sciences? Which interdisciplinary epistemological challenges arise when we think about the use of AI beyond its dependency on big data? Not only the natural sciences, but also the social sciences and the humanities seem to be increasingly affected by current approaches of subsymbolic AI, which master problems of quality (fuzziness, uncertainty) in a hitherto unknown way. But what are the conditions, implications, and effects of these (potential) epistemic transformations and how must research on AI be configured to address them adequately

    Nature-Based Solutions for Cities

    Get PDF
    Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly being adopted to address climate change, health, and urban sustainability, yet ensuring they are effective and inclusive remains a challenge. Addressing these challenges through chapters by leading experts in both global south and north contexts, this forward-looking book advances the science of NBS in cities and discusses the frontiers for next-generation urban NBS

    Animals in Religion, Economy and Daily Life of Ancient Egypt and beyond

    Get PDF
    [Italiano]: L’International Symposium on Animals in Ancient Egypt, the Middle Nile and their hinterlands (ISAAE) è nato con l’obiettivo di riprendere il proficuo dialogo tra studiosi impegnati in questo vastissimo ambito di ricerca, instauratosi già nel 2016 in occasione della prima edizione organizzata e svoltasi al Musée de Confluences di Lione, e consolidatosi con la seconda edizione tenutasi al Cairo presso l'American University nel 2019. Il terzo Simposio è stato organizzato dal Dipartimento Asia, Africa e Mediterraneo (DAAM) dell'Università di Napoli “L'Orientale” (UniOr), in collaborazione con l'American University del Cairo, e si è svolto presso l’UniOr dal 15 al 17 giugno 2022. I tre intensi giorni di incontri e discussioni hanno rappresentato un importante e proficuo momento di condivisione e di aggiornamento sia sui temi della ricerca teorica e sul campo, sia su quelli più tecnici, connessi alle moderne tecnologie di indagine. Studiosi provenienti da tutto il mondo (Europa, Stati Uniti, Egitto, Giappone, Australia) hanno affrontato una pletora di argomenti legati agli animali: archeozoologia, macellazione, mummificazione e relative tecniche moderne di conservazione-restauro, pratiche funerarie, religione, terminologia e scrittura, arti e mestieri, alimentazione, ruolo nella vita quotidiana e nell'economia. Il presente volume ne raccoglie i risultati che gli editori sono lieti di condividere con i colleghi, ma anche con un pubblico di appassionati, a poco più di un anno dal Simposio./[English]: The International Symposium on Animals in Ancient Egypt, the Middle Nile and their hinterland (ISAAE) was established with the aim of resuming the fruitful dialogue between scholars working in this vast field of research. This initiative was first launched in 2016 during the inaugural edition held at the Musée de Confluences in Lyon and further consolidated at the second edition hosted by the American University in Cairo in 2019. The Third Symposium, organised by the Department Asia, Africa e Mediterrano (DAAM) of the University of Naples "L'Orientale" (UniOr), in collaboration with the American University in Cairo, was hosted at UniOr from 15 to 17 June 2022. The three intensive days of meetings and discussions provided a valuable opportunity to exchange and update theoretical and field research topics, as well as technical issues related to modern research technologies. Scholars from all over the world (Europe, United States, Egypt, Japan, Australia) have addressed a plethora of animal-related topics: archaeozoology, slaughter, mummification and related modern preservation-restoration techniques, funerary practices, religion, terminology and writing, arts and crafts, nutrition, role in daily life and the economy. The present volume contains the results that editors are pleased to share with colleagues as well as enthusiasts, just over a year after the symposium
    corecore