Deep Feature Learning and Adaptation for Computer Vision

We are living in times when a revolution of deep learning is taking place. In general, deep learning models have a backbone that extracts features from the input data followed by task-specific layers, e.g. for classification. This dissertation proposes various deep feature extraction and adaptation methods to improve task-specific learning, such as visual re-identification, tracking, and domain adaptation. The vehicle re-identification (VRID) task requires identifying a given vehicle among a set of vehicles under variations in viewpoint, illumination, partial occlusion, and background clutter. We propose a novel local graph aggregation module for feature extraction to improve VRID performance. We also utilize a class-balanced loss to compensate for the unbalanced class distribution in the training dataset. Overall, our framework achieves state-of-the-art (SOTA) performance in multiple VRID benchmarks. We further extend our VRID method for visual object tracking under occlusion conditions. We motivate visual object tracking from aerial platforms by conducting a benchmarking of tracking methods on aerial datasets. Our study reveals that the current techniques have limited capabilities to re-identify objects when fully occluded or out of view. The Siamese network based trackers perform well compared to others in overall tracking performance. We utilize our VRID work in visual object tracking and propose Siam-ReID, a novel tracking method using a Siamese network and VRID technique. In another approach, we propose SiamGauss, a novel Siamese network with a Gaussian Head for improved confuser suppression and real time performance. Our approach achieves SOTA performance on aerial visual object tracking datasets. A related area of research is developing deep learning based domain adaptation techniques. We propose continual unsupervised domain adaptation, a novel paradigm for domain adaptation in data constrained environments. We show that existing works fail to generalize when the target domain data are acquired in small batches. We propose to use a buffer to store samples that are previously seen by the network and a novel loss function to improve the performance of continual domain adaptation. We further extend our continual unsupervised domain adaptation research for gradually varying domains. Our method outperforms several SOTA methods even though they have the entire domain data available during adaptation

Aerial Vehicles

This book contains 35 chapters written by experts in developing techniques for making aerial vehicles more intelligent, more reliable, more flexible in use, and safer in operation.It will also serve as an inspiration for further improvement of the design and application of aeral vehicles. The advanced techniques and research described here may also be applicable to other high-tech areas such as robotics, avionics, vetronics, and space

Student Research Colloquium Proceedings 2008

2008 Student Research Colloquium proceedings include the following: a schedule of the day\u27s events, acknowledgement of research sponsors, the day\u27s program, conference presentation abstracts, student presenter index, research sponsor index, planning committee, poster and paper presentation judges, registration desk, sponsors, and donors, map of Atwood Memorial Center. Invited Alumni Keynote Address: Research in Action: Helping People included the following SCSU alumni panelists: Keesha Gaskins, Executive Director of Minnesota Women\u27s Political Caucus; Bob Goff, Co-founder and owner of Goff & Howard, Inc., a public relations firm; Amy Schultz, Geropsychologist from OPAL Institute, Oregon Passionate Aging and Living. These distinguished alumni will discuss how research helps them do their jobs. Panelists will describe their careers and answer questions about the secret to their success

Addressing the climate challenge

In 2021, colleagues from across the University of Birmingham community were invited to write articles about topics relevant to the COP26 climate change summit. In this series of articles, experts from across many different disciplines provide new insight and evidence on how we might all understand and tackle climate change

Research and Technology Objectives and Plans Summary (RTOPS)

This publication represents the NASA research and technology program for FY-93. It is a compilation of the Summary portions of each of the RTOP's (Research and Technology Objectives and Plans) used for management review and control of research currently in progress throughout NASA. The RTOP Summary is designed to facilitate communication and coordination among concerned technical personnel in government, in industry, and in universities. The first section containing citations and abstracts of the RTOP's is followed by four indexes: Subject, Technical Monitor, Responsible NASA Organization, and RTOP Number

Conservation Biology in Sub-Saharan Africa

Conservation Biology in Sub-Saharan Africa comprehensively explores the challenges and potential solutions to key conservation issues in Sub-Saharan Africa. Easy to read, this lucid and accessible textbook includes fifteen chapters that cover a full range of conservation topics, including threats to biodiversity, environmental laws, and protected areas management, as well as related topics such as sustainability, poverty, and human-wildlife conflict. This rich resource also includes a background discussion of what conservation biology is, a wide range of theoretical approaches to the subject, and concrete examples of conservation practice in specific African contexts. Strategies are outlined to protect biodiversity whilst promoting economic development in the region. Boxes covering specific themes written by scientists who live and work throughout the region are included in each chapter, together with recommended readings and suggested discussion topics. Each chapter also includes an extensive bibliography. Conservation Biology in Sub-Saharan Africa provides the most up-to-date study in the field. It is an essential resource, available on-line without charge, for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a handy guide for professionals working to stop the rapid loss of biodiversity in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere

Spacelab Science Results Study

Beginning with OSTA-1 in November 1981 and ending with Neurolab in March 1998, a total of 36 Shuttle missions carried various Spacelab components such as the Spacelab module, pallet, instrument pointing system, or mission peculiar experiment support structure. The experiments carried out during these flights included astrophysics, solar physics, plasma physics, atmospheric science, Earth observations, and a wide range of microgravity experiments in life sciences, biotechnology, materials science, and fluid physics which includes combustion and critical point phenomena. In all, some 764 experiments were conducted by investigators from the U.S., Europe, and Japan. The purpose of this Spacelab Science Results Study is to document the contributions made in each of the major research areas by giving a brief synopsis of the more significant experiments and an extensive list of the publications that were produced. We have also endeavored to show how these results impacted the existing body of knowledge, where they have spawned new fields, and if appropriate, where the knowledge they produced has been applied

NASA Tech Briefs, November 1995

The contents include: 1) Mission Accomplished; 2) Resource Report: Marshall Space Flight Center; 3) NASA 1995 Software of the Year Award; 4) Microbolometers Based on Epitaxial YBa2Cu3O(sub 7-x) Thin Films; 5) Garnet Random-Access Memory; 6) Fabrication of SNS Weak Links on SOS Substrates; 7) High-Voltage MOSFET Switching Circuit; 8) Asymmetric Switching for a PWM H-Bridge Power Circuit; 9) Better Ohmic Contacts for InP Semiconductor Devices; 10) Low-Bandgap Thermovoltaic Materials and Devices; 11) Digital Frequency-Differencing Circuit; 12) Imaging Magnetometer; 13) Computer-Assisted Monitoring of a Complex System; 14) Buffered Telemetry Demodulator; 15) Compact Multifunction Inspection Head; 16) Optical Detection of Fractures in Ceramic Diaphragms; 17) Eddy-Current Detection of Cracks in Reinforced Carbon/Carbon; 18) Apparent Thermal Conductivity of Multilayer Insulation; 19) Optimizing Misch-Metal Compositions in Metal Hydride Anodes; 20) Device for Sampling Surface Contamination; 21) Probabilistic Failure Assessment for Fatigue; 22) Probabilistic Fatigue and Flaw-Propagation Analysis; 23) Windows Program for Driving the TDU-850 Printer; 24) Subband/Transform MATLAB Functions for Processing Images; 25) Computing Equilibrium Chemical Compositions; 26) Program Processes Thermocouple Readings; 27) ICAN-Second-Generation Integrated Composite Analyzer; 28) Integrated Composite Analyzer with Damping Capabilities; 29) Computing Efficiency of Transfer of Microwave Power; 30) Program Calculates Power Demands of Electronic Designs; 31) Cost-Estimation Program; 32) Program Estimates Areas Required by Electronic Designs; 33) Program to Balance Mapped Turbopump Assemblies; 34) BiblioTech; 35) Controlling Mirror Tilt With a Bimorph Actuator; 36) Burst-Disk Device Simulates Effect of Pyrotechnic Device; 37) Bearing-Mounting Concept Accommodates Thermal Expansion; 38) Parallel-Plate Acoustic Absorbers for Hot Environments; 39) Adjustable-Length Strut Withstands Large Cyclic Loads; 40) Tool Indicates Contact Angles in Bearing Raceways; 41) Gravity Slides With Magnetic Braking; 42) High-Torque, Lightweight, Pneumatically Driven Wrench for Small Spaces; 43) Device for Testing Compatibility of an O-Ring; 44) Magnetic Heat Pump Containing Flow Diverters; 45) Variable-Tilt Helicopter Rotor Mast; 46) "Beach-Ball" Robotic Rovers; 47) Apparatus Would Measure Temperatures of Ball Bearings; 48) Flexible Borescope for Inspecting Ducts; 49) Texturing Copper To Reduce Secondary Emission of Electrons; 50) Automated Laser Cutting in Three Dimensions; 51) Algorithm Helps Monitor Engine Operation; 52) Flexible Revision of Data-Processing Communications; 53) Software for Managing the Use of Land; 54) Thermal Strap Increases Cryocooling Efficiency; 55) Reversible Nut With Engagement Indication; 56) Control Algorithms for Kinematically Redundant Manipulators; 57) Computed Hydrogen-Flow Splits in a Rocket Engine; 58) Pressure and Thermal Modeling of Rocket Launches; 59) Field of View of a Spacecraft Antenna: Analysis and Software; 60) Digital Controller for Laser-Beam-Steering Subsystem; 61) More About Beam-Steering Subsystem for Laser Communication; 62) Digital Controller for Laser-Beam-Steering Subsystem: Part 2; 63) Interface Circuit Board for Space-Shuttle Communications; 64) Automated Planning of Spacecraft Telecommunications; 65) Artifacts of Spectral Analysis of Instrument Readings; 66) Neural-Network Controller for Vibration Suppression; 67) Adaptive Finite-Element Computation in Fracture Mechanics; 68) Attitude Control for the Cassini Spacecraft; 69) Analytical Model for Fluid Dynamics in a Microgravity Environment; 70) Study of Rocket-Engine Joints Bonded by NVCU/NARloy-Z; 71) Improved Silicon Nitride for Advanced Heat Engines; 72) Parameters for Welding Aluminum/Lithium Alloys; 73) Lightweight Composite Intertank Structure; 74) Foil Patches Seal Small Vacuum Leaks; 75) Data Base on Cables and Connectors; 76) Effect of Clock Mode on Radiation Hardnessf an ADC; and 77) Fault-Tolerant Control for a Robotic Inspection System

2013 Oklahoma Research Day Full Program

This document contains all abstracts from the 2013 Oklahoma Research Day held at the University of Central Oklahoma