A biologically inspired computational vision front-end based on a self-organised pseudo-randomly tessellated artificial retina

This paper considers the construction of a biologically inspired front-end for computer vision based on an artificial retina pyramid with a self-organised pseudo-randomly tessellated receptive field tessellation. The organisation of photoreceptors and receptive fields in biological retinae locally resembles a hexagonal mosaic, whereas globally these are organised with a very densely tessellated central foveal region which seamlessly merges into an increasingly sparsely tessellated periphery. In contrast, conventional computer vision approaches use a rectilinear sampling tessellation which samples the whole field of view with uniform density. Scale-space interest points which are suitable for higher level attention and reasoning tasks are efficiently extracted by our vision front-end by performing hierarchical feature extraction on the pseudo-randomly spaced visual information. All operations were conducted on a geometrically irregular foveated representation (data structure for visual information) which is radically different to the uniform rectilinear arrays used in conventional computer vision

Steady free-surface flow over spatially periodic topography

Two-dimensional free-surface flow over a spatially periodic channel bed topography is examined using a steady periodically forced Korteweg-de Vries equation. The existence of new forced solitary-type waves with periodic tails is demonstrated using recently developed non-autonomous dynamical-systems theory. Bound states with two or more co-existing solitary waves are also identified. The solution space for varying amplitude of forcing is explored using a numerical method. A rich bifurcation structure is uncovered and shown to be consistent with an asymptotic theory based on small forcing amplitude..J. Binder, M.G. Blyth and S. Balasuriy

Gradient evolution for potential vorticity flows

International audienceTwo-dimensional unsteady incompressible flows in which the potential vorticity (PV) plays a key role are examined in this study, through the development of the evolution equation for the PV gradient. For the case where the PV is conserved, precise statements concerning topology-conservation are presented. While establishing some intuitively well-known results (the numbers of eddies and saddles is conserved), other less obvious consequences (PV patches cannot be generated, some types of Lagrangian and Eulerian entities are equivalent) are obtained. This approach enables an improvement on an integrability result for PV conserving flows (if there were no PV patches at time zero, the flow would be integrable). The evolution of the PV gradient is also determined for the nonconservative case, and a plausible experiment for estimating eddy diffusivity is suggested. The theory is applied to an analytical diffusive Rossby wave example

Laser-camera composite sensing for road detection and tracing

An important feature in most urban roads and similar environments, such as in theme parks, campus sites, industrial estates, science parks, and the like, is the existence of pavements or curbs on either side de?ning the road boundaries. These curbs, which are mostly parallel to the road, can be harnessed to extract useful features of the road for implementing autonomous navigation or driver assistance systems. However, vision-alone methods for extraction of such curbs or road edge features with accurate depth information is a formidable task, as the curb is not conspicuous in the vision image and also requires the use of stereo images. Further, bad lighting, adverse weather conditions, nonlinear lens aberrations, or lens glare due to sun and other bright light sources can severely impair the road image quality and thus the operation of vision-alone methods. In this paper an alternative and novel approach involving the fusion of 2D laser range and monochrome vision image data is proposed to improve the robustness and reliability. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the viability and effectiveness of the proposed methodology and its robustness to different road configurations and shadows

Meridional and zonal wavenumber dependence in tracer flux in Rossby waves

Eddy-driven jets are of importance in the ocean and atmosphere, and to a first approximation are governed by Rossby wave dynamics. This study addresses the time-dependent flux of fluid and a passive tracer between such a jet and an adjacent eddy, with specific regard to determining zonal and meridional wavenumber dependence. The flux amplitude in wavenumber space is obtained, which is easily computable for a given jet geometry, speed and latitude, and which provides instant information on the wavenumbers of the Rossby waves which maximize the flux. This new tool enables the quick determination of which modes are most influential in imparting fluid exchange, which in the long term will homogenize the tracer concentration between the eddy and the jet. The results are validated by computing backward- and forward-time finite-time Lyapunov exponent fields, and also stable and unstable manifolds; the intermingling of these entities defines the region of chaotic transport between the eddy and the jet. The relationship of all of these to the time-varying transport flux between the eddy and the jet is carefully elucidated. The flux quantification presented here works for general time-dependence, whether or not lobes (intersection regions between stable and unstable manifolds) are present in the mixing region, and is therefore also easily computable for wave packets consisting of infinitely many wavenumbers.Sanjeeva Balasuriy

Stochastic sensitivity: a computable Lagrangian uncertainty measure for unsteady flows

Uncertainties in velocity data are often ignored when computing Lagrangian particle trajectories of fluids. Modeling these as noise in the velocity field leads to a random deviation from each trajectory. This deviation is examined within the context of small (multiplicative) stochasticity applying to a two-dimensional unsteady flow operating over a finite time. These assumptions are motivated precisely by standard availability expectations of realistic velocity data. Explicit expressions for the deviation's expected size and anisotropy are obtained using an Itô calculus approach, thereby characterizing the uncertainty in the Lagrangian trajectory's final location with respect to lengthscale and direction. These provide a practical methodology for ascribing spatially nonuniform uncertainties to predictions of flows, and also provide new tools for extracting fluid regions that remain robust under velocity fluctuations.Sanjeeva Balasuriy

Uncertainty in finite-time Lyapunov exponent computations

The Finite-Time Lyapunov Exponent (FTLE) is a well-established numerical tool for assessing stretching rates of initial parcels of fluid, which are advected according to a given time-varying velocity field (which is often available only as data). When viewed as a field over initial conditions, the FTLE's spatial structure is often used to infer the nonhomogeneous transport. Given the measurement and resolution errors inevitably present in the unsteady velocity data, the computed FTLE field should in reality be treated only as an approximation. A method which, for the first time, is able for attribute spatially-varying errors to the FTLE field is developed. The formulation is, however, confined to two-dimensional flows.Knowledge of the errors prevent reaching erroneous conclusions based only on the FTLE field. Moreover, it is established that increasing the spatial resolution does not improve the accuracy of the FTLE field in the presence of velocity uncertainties, and indeed has the opposite effect. Stochastic simulations are used to validate and exemplify these results, and demonstrate the computability of the error field.Sanjeeva Balasuriy

Road curb tracking in an urban environment

Road detection and tracking is very useful in the synthesis of driver assistance and intelligent transportation systems. In this paper a methodology is proposed based on the extended Kalman filer for robust road curb detection and tracking using a combination of onboard active and passive sensors. The problem is formulated as detecting and tracking a maneuvering target in clutter using onboard sensors on a moving platform. The primary sensors utilized are a 2 dimensional SICK laser scanner, five encoders and a gyroscope, together with an image sensor (CCD camera). Compared to the active 20 laser scanner the CCD camera is capable of providing observations over an extended horizon, thus making available much useful information about the curb trend, which is exploited in mainly the laser based tracking algorithm. The advantage of the proposed image enhanced laser detection/tracking method, over laser alone detection/tracking, is illustrated using simulations and its robustness to varied road curvatures, branching, turns and scenarios, is demonstrated through experimental results. © 2003 ISlF

Controlling trajectories globally via spatiotemporal finite-time optimal control

The problems of (i) maximizing or minimizing Lagrangian mixing in fluids via the introduction of a spatiotemporally varying control velocity and (ii) globally controlling the finite-time location of trajectories beginning at all initial conditions in a chaotic system are considered. A particular form of solution to these is designed which uses a new methodology for computing a spatiotemporally dependent optimal control. An L2-error norm for trajectory locations over a finite-time horizon is combined with a penalty energy norm for the control velocity in defining the global cost function. A computational algorithm for cost minimization is developed, and theoretical results on global error and cost presented. Numerical simulations (using velocities which are specified, and obtained as data from computational fluid dynamics simulations) are used to demonstrate the efficacy and validity of the approach in determining the required spatiotemporally defined control velocity.Li Zhang and Sanjeeva Balasuriy