Color Optical Flow

Grayscale optical-flow methods have long been the focus of methods for recovering optical flow. Optical flow recovery from color-images can be implemented using direct methods, i.e. without using computationally costly iterations or search strategies. The quality of recovered optical flow can be assessed and tailored after processing, providing an effective, efficient tool for motion estimation. In this paper, a brief introduction to optical flow is presented, the optical flow constraint equation and its extension to color images is presented. New methods for solving this extended equation are given. Results of applying these methods to two synthetic image sequences are presented

OFCat: An Extensible GUI-Driven Optical Flow Comparison Tool

OFCat is an extensible GUI-driven optical flow computation and analysis tool. The user can add their own image sequences, filtering, differentiating and optical flow techniques. OFCat can process both grayscale and color images. It implements a number of low-pass filtering and differentiating techniques. Many traditional optical flow extraction techniques are available, in addition to some novel color-based methods. Analysis of the recovered flow is performed using groundtruth analysis, image reconstruction and sparsity vs error analysis. Synthetic ground-truth can be created and used to create a test image sequence from a single image

General Purpose Real-Time Object Tracking using Hausdorff Transforms

We describe a real-time computer-vision tracking module capable of using several Hausdorff distance based approaches to localize and match edge models in a scene. The implementation is based on widely supported software and hardware technologies such as Microsoft DirectX/DirectShow, Intel Image Processing and the Open Source Computer Vision libraries

Forecasting Plant Productivity and Health Using Diffuse-to-Global Irradiance Ratios Extracted from the OMI Aerosol Product

Atmospheric aerosols are a major contributor to diffuse irradiance. This Candidate Solution suggests using the OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) aerosol product as input into a radiative transfer model, which would calculate the ratio of diffuse to global irradiance at the Earth s surface. This ratio can significantly influence the rate of photosynthesis in plants; increasing the ratio of diffuse to global irradiance can accelerate photosynthesis, resulting in greater plant productivity. Accurate values of this ratio could be useful in predicting crop productivity, thereby improving forecasts of regional food resources. However, disagreements exist between diffuse-to-global irradiance values measured by different satellites and ground sensors. OMI, with its unique combination of spectral bands, high resolution, and daily global coverage, may be able to provide more accurate aerosol measurements than other comparable sensors

Solutions Network Formulation Report. Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor Measurements of Diffuse-to-Global Irradiance Ratio for Improved Forecasting of Plant Productivity and Health

Studies have shown that vegetation is directly sensitive to changes in the diffuse-to-global irradiance ratio and that increased percentage of diffuse irradiation can accelerate photosynthesis. Therefore, measurements of diffuse versus global irradiance could be useful for monitoring crop productivity and overall vegetative health as they relate to the total amount of particulates in the air that result from natural disasters or anthropogenic (manmade) causes. While the components of solar irradiance are measured by satellite and surface sensors and calculated with atmospheric models, disagreement exists between the results, creating a need for more accurate and comprehensive retrievals of atmospheric aerosol parameters. Two satellite sensors--APS and VIIRS--show promise for retrieving aerosol properties at an unprecedented level of accuracy. APS is expected to be launched in December 2008. The planned launch date for VIIRS onboard NPP is September 2009. Identified partners include the USDA s ARS, North Carolina State University, Purdue Climate Change Research Center, and the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University. Although at present no formal DSSs (decision support systems) require accurate values of diffuse-to-global irradiance, this parameter is sufficiently important that models are being developed that will incorporate these measurements. This candidate solution is aligned with the Agricultural Efficiency and Air Quality National Applications

Analytical two-center integrals over Slater geminal functions

We present analytical formulas for the calculation of the two-center two-electron integrals in the basis of Slater geminals and products of Slater orbitals. Our derivation starts with establishing a inhomogeneous fourth-order ordinary differential equation that is obeyed by the master integral, the simplest integral with inverse powers of all interparticle distances. To solve this equation it was necessary to introduce a new family of special functions which are defined through their series expansions around regular singular points of the differential equation. To increase the power of the interparticle distances under the sign of the integral we developed a family of open-ended recursion relations. A handful of special cases of the integrals is also analysed with some remarks on simplifications that occur. Additionally, we present some numerical examples of the master integral that validate the usefulness and correctness of the key equations derived in this paper. In particular, we compare our results with the calculations based on the series expansion of the exp(-\gamma r12) term in the master integral.Comment: 28 pages, 0 figures, 7 table

An Automated Flying-Insect Detection System

An automated flying-insect detection system (AFIDS) was developed as a proof-of-concept instrument for real-time detection and identification of flying insects. This type of system has use in public health and homeland-security decision support, agriculture and military pest management, and/or entomological research. Insects are first lured into the AFIDS integrated sphere by insect attractants. Once inside the sphere, the insect s wing beats cause alterations in light intensity that is detected by a photoelectric sensor. Following detection, the insects are encouraged (with the use of a small fan) to move out of the sphere and into a designated insect trap where they are held for taxonomic identification or serological testing. The acquired electronic wing-beat signatures are preprocessed (Fourier transformed) in real time to display a periodic signal. These signals are sent to the end user where they are graphically. All AFIDS data are preprocessed in the field with the use of a laptop computer equipped with LabVIEW. The AFIDS software can be programmed to run continuously or at specific time intervals when insects are prevalent. A special DC-restored transimpedance amplifier reduces the contributions of low-frequency background light signals, and affords approximately two orders of magnitude greater AC gain than conventional amplifiers. This greatly increases the signal-to-noise ratio and enables the detection of small changes in light intensity. The AFIDS light source consists of high-intensity Al-GaInP light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The AFIDS circuitry minimizes brightness fluctuations in the LEDs and when integrated with an integrating sphere, creates a diffuse uniform light field. The insect wing beats isotropically scatter the diffuse light in the sphere and create wing-beat signatures that are detected by the sensor. This configuration minimizes variations in signal associated with insect flight orientation. Preliminary data indicate that AFIDS has sufficient sensitivity and frequency measuring capability to differentiate between male and female mosquitoes (Figure 1, bottom panel) and fruit flies (data not shown). Similar studies show that AFIDS can be utilized to detect discrete differences between two mosquito species, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. When fully deployable, a wireless network of AFIDS monitors could be used in combination with other remotely sensed data and visually displayed in a geographic information system (GIS) to provide real-time surveillance (see Figure 2). More accurate and sensitive insect population forecasts and effective rapid response and mitigation of insect issues would then be possible

Thirty years of SN 1980K: Evidence for light echoes

We report optical and mid-infrared photometry of SN 1980K between 2004 and 2010, which show slow monotonic fading consistent with previous spectroscopic and photometric observations made 8 to 17 years after outburst. The slow rate-of-change over two decades suggests that this evolution may result from scattered and thermal light echoes off of extended circumstellar material. We present a semi- analytic dust radiative-transfer model that uses an empirically corrected effective optical depth to provide a fast and robust alternative to full Monte-Carlo radiative transfer modeling for homogenous dust at low to intermediate optical depths. We find that unresolved echoes from a thin circumstellar shell 14-15 lt-yr from the progenitor, and containing about 0.02 Msun of carbon-rich dust, can explain the broadband spectral and temporal evolution. The size, mass and dust composition are in good agreement with the contact discontinuity observed in scattered echoes around SN 1987A. The origin of slowly-changing high-velocity [O I] and Halpha lines is also considered. We propose an origin in shocked high-velocity metal-rich clumps of ejecta, rather than arising in the impact of ejecta on slowly-moving circumstellar material, as is the case with hot spots in SN 1987A.Comment: Accepted 2/14/12 to be published in ApJ. 15 pages, 10 figure

Resonance energy transfer: The unified theory revisited

Resonanceenergy transfer (RET) is the principal mechanism for the intermolecular or intramolecular redistribution of electronic energy following molecular excitation. In terms of fundamental quantum interactions, the process is properly described in terms of a virtual photon transit between the pre-excited donor and a lower energy (usually ground-state) acceptor. The detailed quantum amplitude for RET is calculated by molecular quantum electrodynamical techniques with the observable, the transfer rate, derived via application of the Fermi golden rule. In the treatment reported here, recently devised state-sequence techniques and a novel calculational protocol is applied to RET and shown to circumvent problems associated with the usual method. The second-rank tensor describing virtual photon behavior evolves from a Green’s function solution to the Helmholtz equation, and special functions are employed to realize the coupling tensor. The method is used to derive a new result for energy transfer systems sensitive to both magnetic- and electric-dipole transitions. The ensuing result is compared to that of pure electric-dipole–electric-dipole coupling and is analyzed with regard to acceptable transfer separations. Systems are proposed where the electric-dipole–magnetic-dipole term is the leading contribution to the overall rate