Hybrid Scene Compression for Visual Localization

Localizing an image wrt. a 3D scene model represents a core task for many computer vision applications. An increasing number of real-world applications of visual localization on mobile devices, e.g., Augmented Reality or autonomous robots such as drones or self-driving cars, demand localization approaches to minimize storage and bandwidth requirements. Compressing the 3D models used for localization thus becomes a practical necessity. In this work, we introduce a new hybrid compression algorithm that uses a given memory limit in a more effective way. Rather than treating all 3D points equally, it represents a small set of points with full appearance information and an additional, larger set of points with compressed information. This enables our approach to obtain a more complete scene representation without increasing the memory requirements, leading to a superior performance compared to previous compression schemes. As part of our contribution, we show how to handle ambiguous matches arising from point compression during RANSAC. Besides outperforming previous compression techniques in terms of pose accuracy under the same memory constraints, our compression scheme itself is also more efficient. Furthermore, the localization rates and accuracy obtained with our approach are comparable to state-of-the-art feature-based methods, while using a small fraction of the memory.Comment: Published at CVPR 201

The Small World of Investing: Board Connections and Mutual Fund Returns

This paper uses social networks to identify information transfer in security markets. We focus on connections between mutual fund managers and corporate board members via shared education networks. We find that portfolio managers place larger bets on firms they are connected to through their network, and perform significantly better on these holdings relative to their non-connected holdings. A replicating portfolio of connected stocks outperforms a replicating portfolio of non-connected stocks by up to 8.4% per year. Returns are concentrated around corporate news announcements, consistent with mutual fund managers gaining an informational advantage through the education networks. Our results suggest that social networks may be an important mechanism for information flow into asset prices.

Nonlinear Methods for Model Reduction

The usual approach to model reduction for parametric partial differential equations (PDEs) is to construct a linear space $V_n$ which approximates well the solution manifold $\mathcal{M}$ consisting of all solutions $u(y)$ with $y$ the vector of parameters. This linear reduced model $V_n$ is then used for various tasks such as building an online forward solver for the PDE or estimating parameters from data observations. It is well understood in other problems of numerical computation that nonlinear methods such as adaptive approximation, $n$-term approximation, and certain tree-based methods may provide improved numerical efficiency. For model reduction, a nonlinear method would replace the linear space $V_n$ by a nonlinear space $\Sigma_n$. This idea has already been suggested in recent papers on model reduction where the parameter domain is decomposed into a finite number of cells and a linear space of low dimension is assigned to each cell. Up to this point, little is known in terms of performance guarantees for such a nonlinear strategy. Moreover, most numerical experiments for nonlinear model reduction use a parameter dimension of only one or two. In this work, a step is made towards a more cohesive theory for nonlinear model reduction. Framing these methods in the general setting of library approximation allows us to give a first comparison of their performance with those of standard linear approximation for any general compact set. We then turn to the study these methods for solution manifolds of parametrized elliptic PDEs. We study a very specific example of library approximation where the parameter domain is split into a finite number $N$ of rectangular cells and where different reduced affine spaces of dimension $m$ are assigned to each cell. The performance of this nonlinear procedure is analyzed from the viewpoint of accuracy of approximation versus $m$ and $N$

Re: pairing Louise Bourgeois: sculpture and psychoanalysis in the years 1946 -1969

Thesis (M.A. (Fine Arts))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, School of Arts, 2016.The early part of this dissertation is concerned with a particular period (1946-­‐1969) in sculptor Louise Bourgeois’ life when her artistry and her psychoanalysis overlapped for the first time. Within this time frame, the years 1952 – 1969 reference a particular period when she was in deep psychoanalysis with Dr. Henry Lowenfeld, a period, which profoundly affected her self understanding and associated art practice. By establishing her positioning within a story of Modernism (as a departure point) I will then go on to consider how the more traditional historical readings of her work can be used to understand her work and behavior within a more pronounced psychoanalytic frame. From this positioning I will reconsider Bourgeois’ artistic practice as being deeply linked to an unconscious need to repair early psychic ruptures with maternal and paternal caretakers. From a Kleinian position I will foreground Bourgeois’ predisposition to sculpt as a reparative enactment driven by her primary internal Object-­‐Relations. Key works and free-­‐associative written material (composed in relation to her psychoanalytic sessions from the outlined time frame) will provide evidence for her psychic shifts over the period. These will be investigated in relation to changes in her sculptural output -­‐ key signifiers of repressed psychic experience, becoming conscious. The dissertation seeks to understand the relationship between these two investigative processes (art and psychoanalysis). Similarly, with reference to Bourgeois, the latter half of this project will investigate my personal (parallel) experience as a sculptor and analysand1 . In relation to both enquiries, I will specifically consider the therapeutic relationship between the physical act of making artworks and the verbal psychoanalytic experience. In an effort to understand how the pairing of these two communicative modalities might impact artistic experience.MT201

Veterans Returning From War Into The Classroom: How Can Colleges Be Better Prepared To Meet Their Needs

Colleges throughout the country are bracing for a large influx of returning veterans over the next couple of years and the question is whether they can meet the needs of this population. There is a paucity of empirical literature on Iraqi and/or Afghan veterans’ adjustment in the college arena and the factors that mitigate the attrition rate and facilitate success. This research offers a glimpse into the lives of the veterans returning into college life.  An important implication of this research is to better inform educators, mental health professionals and administrators with regard to policy making, program development and restructuring efforts. A qualitative research design using structured interviews to obtain information about returning veterans from Afghanistan and/or Iraq was used in this study. This study discusses the many challenges that soldiers face when they return into the classroom.  Experiencing symptoms of PTSD is an issue exacerbating the transition into student life.  Campus health and counseling officials should have knowledge regarding symptoms and treatment strategies for PTSD and have an extensive referral list for veterans

Validation of Lateral Gap Leakage Objective Function for Use in Multi-Objective Optimization of Gerotor Pumps

Gerotor pumps are a common pump choice used in the automotive, agricultural, and construction fields for their low cost and durability. Recently, demanding applications have called for significant design improvements in gear geometry. To address these design challenges, multi-objective optimization has been applied to gear geometry. The goal of this work is to introduce minimizing of lateral-gap leakage to the multi-objective optimization. An objective function for evaluating lateral-gap leakage based on 1D, pressure driven flow is proposed. This simplified approach is compared to CFD simulation solving of Reynolds equation with two pressure boundaries. Comparison of the simplified relation and the CFD simulation are used to validate the objective function for use in optimization

Iudaei et Iudaei baptizati in the Visigoth law

La decisión de Sisebuto de convertir forzosamente a los judíos, en una fecha cercana al 616 d.C., conformó un nuevo e intrincado mapa identitario en la sociedad visigoda. La definición de la pertenencia religiosa se volvería, así, un aspecto recurrente en la legislación hispana del siglo VII. En este trabajo, nos proponemos revisitar, por una parte, el problema que la polisemia del término Iudaeus genera al momento de realizar un análisis histórico a partir de la normativa visigoda. Por otra parte, analizaremos la mentada legislación, con el fin de delimitar las posibilidades de recuperar el contexto social y religioso en el que fue producida.Sisebute´s decision to force the conversion of Jews in 616 AD created a new and intricate identity map in the Visigothic society. In this context, the demarcation of religious belonging became a recurrent aspect in the Hispanic legislation during the 7th century. The purpose of this work is to clarify, on the one hand, the problem that the polysemy of the term Iudaeus creates in order to carry out an historical analysis through the visigothic law. On the other hand, we will analyze this legislation with the aim of demarcating the possibilities of restoring the social and religious context in which it was produced.Fil: Laham Cohen, Rodrigo Jaime. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Historia y Ciencias Humanas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Departamento de Historia; ArgentinaFil: Pecznik, Carolina Andrea. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentin