Optimal Radiometric Calibration for Camera-Display Communication

We present a novel method for communicating between a camera and display by embedding and recovering hidden and dynamic information within a displayed image. A handheld camera pointed at the display can receive not only the display image, but also the underlying message. These active scenes are fundamentally different from traditional passive scenes like QR codes because image formation is based on display emittance, not surface reflectance. Detecting and decoding the message requires careful photometric modeling for computational message recovery. Unlike standard watermarking and steganography methods that lie outside the domain of computer vision, our message recovery algorithm uses illumination to optically communicate hidden messages in real world scenes. The key innovation of our approach is an algorithm that performs simultaneous radiometric calibration and message recovery in one convex optimization problem. By modeling the photometry of the system using a camera-display transfer function (CDTF), we derive a physics-based kernel function for support vector machine classification. We demonstrate that our method of optimal online radiometric calibration (OORC) leads to an efficient and robust algorithm for computational messaging between nine commercial cameras and displays.Comment: 10 pages, Submitted to CVPR 201

Three dimensional reconstruction of the tectorial membrane : an image processing method using Nomarski differential interference contrast microscopy

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1992.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-96).by Kristin J. Dana.M.S

Neck linker docking is critical for Kinesin-1 force generation in cells but at a cost to motor speed and processivity.

Kinesin force generation involves ATP-induced docking of the neck linker (NL) along the motor core. However, the roles of the proposed steps of NL docking, cover-neck bundle (CNB) and asparagine latch (N-latch) formation, during force generation are unclear. Furthermore, the necessity of NL docking for transport of membrane-bound cargo in cells has not been tested. We generated kinesin-1 motors impaired in CNB and/or N-latch formation based on molecular dynamics simulations. The mutant motors displayed reduced force output and inability to stall in optical trap assays but exhibited increased speeds, run lengths, and landing rates under unloaded conditions. NL docking thus enhances force production but at a cost to speed and processivity. In cells, teams of mutant motors were hindered in their ability to drive transport of Golgi elements (high-load cargo) but not peroxisomes (low-load cargo). These results demonstrate that the NL serves as a mechanical element for kinesin-1 transport under physiological conditions

Transparent Watermarking using Bidirectional Imaging

Abstract We present a method for transparent watermarking using a custom bidirectional imaging device. Th

Phase messaging method for time-of-flight cameras

Ubiquitous light emitting devices and low-cost commercial digital cameras facilitate optical wireless communication system such as visual MIMO where handheld cameras communicate with electronic displays. While intensity-based optical communications are more prevalent in camera-display messaging, we present a novel method that uses modulated light phase for messaging and time-of-flight (ToF) cameras for receivers. With intensity-based methods, light signals can be degraded by reflections and ambient illumination. By comparison, communication using ToF cameras is more robust against challenging lighting conditions. Additionally, the concept of phase messaging can be combined with intensity messaging for a significant data rate advantage. In this work, we design and construct a phase messaging array (PMA), which is the first of its kind, to communicate to a ToF depth camera by manipulating the phase of the depth camera's infrared light signal. The array enables message variation spatially using a plane of infrared light emitting diodes and temporally by varying the induced phase shift. In this manner, the phase messaging array acts as the transmitter by electronically controlling the light signal phase. The ToF camera acts as the receiver by observing and recording a time-varying depth. We show a complete implementation of a 3×3 prototype array with custom hardware and demonstrating average bit accuracy as high as 97.8%. The prototype data rate with this approach is 1 Kbps that can be extended to approximately 10 Mbps.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (grant CNS-106546#

Dynamics of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus infection within the vector, Culicoides sonorensis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)

Citation: Mills, M. K., Ruder, M. G., Nayduch, D., Michel, K., & Drolet, B. S. (2017). Dynamics of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus infection within the vector, Culicoides sonorensis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). PLOS ONE, 12(11), e0188865. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188865Culicoides sonorensis biting midges are confirmed vectors of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV), which causes mortality in white-tailed deer and ruminant populations. Currently, of the seven EHDV serotypes, only 1, 2, and 6 are detected in the USA, and very few studies have focused on the infection time course of these serotypes within the midge. The objective of this current research was to characterize EHDV-2 infection within the midge by measuring infection prevalence, virus dissemination, and viral load over the course of infection. Midges were fed a blood meal containing 106.9 PFU/ml EHDV-2, collected every 12 h from 0–2 days post feeding (dpf) and daily from 3–10 dpf, and cohorts of 20 C. sonorensis were processed using techniques that assessed EHDV infection and dissemination. Cytopathic effect assays and quantitative (q)PCR were used to determine infection prevalence, revealing a 50% infection rate by 10 dpf using both methods. Using immunohistochemistry, EHDV-2 infection was detectable at 5 dpf, and shown to disseminate from the midgut to other tissues, including fat body, eyes, and salivary glands by 5 dpf. Stain intensity increased from 5–8 dpf, indicating replication of EHDV-2 in secondary infection sites after dissemination. This finding is also supported by trends in viral load over time as determined by plaque assays and qPCR. An increase in titer between 4–5 dpf correlated with viral replication in the midgut as seen with staining at day 5, while the subsequent gradual increase in viral load from 8–10 dpf suggested viral replication in midges with disseminated infection. Overall, the data presented herein suggest that EHDV-2 disseminates via the hemolymph to secondary infection sites throughout the midge and demonstrate a high potential for transmission at five days at 25°C after an infective blood-meal

Socially Cognizant Robotics for a Technology Enhanced Society

Emerging applications of robotics, and concerns about their impact, require the research community to put human-centric objectives front-and-center. To meet this challenge, we advocate an interdisciplinary approach, socially cognizant robotics, which synthesizes technical and social science methods. We argue that this approach follows from the need to empower stakeholder participation (from synchronous human feedback to asynchronous societal assessment) in shaping AI-driven robot behavior at all levels, and leads to a range of novel research perspectives and problems both for improving robots' interactions with individuals and impacts on society. Drawing on these arguments, we develop best practices for socially cognizant robot design that balance traditional technology-based metrics (e.g. efficiency, precision and accuracy) with critically important, albeit challenging to measure, human and society-based metrics