Computing the Component-Labeling and the Adjacency Tree of a Binary Digital Image in Near Logarithmic-Time

Connected component labeling (CCL) of binary images is one of the fundamental operations in real time applications. The adjacency tree (AdjT) of the connected components offers a region-based representation where each node represents a region which is surrounded by another region of the opposite color. In this paper, a fully parallel algorithm for computing the CCL and AdjT of a binary digital image is described and implemented, without the need of using any geometric information. The time complexity order for an image of m × n pixels under the assumption that a processing element exists for each pixel is near O(log(m+ n)). Results for a multicore processor show a very good scalability until the so-called memory bandwidth bottleneck is reached. The inherent parallelism of our approach points to the direction that even better results will be obtained in other less classical computing architectures.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MTM2016-81030-PMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad TEC2012-37868-C04-0

Generating Second Order (Co)homological Information within AT-Model Context

In this paper we design a new family of relations between (co)homology classes, working with coefficients in a field and starting from an AT-model (Algebraic Topological Model) AT(C) of a finite cell complex C These relations are induced by elementary relations of type “to be in the (co)boundary of” between cells. This high-order connectivity information is embedded into a graph-based representation model, called Second Order AT-Region-Incidence Graph (or AT-RIG) of C. This graph, having as nodes the different homology classes of C, is in turn, computed from two generalized abstract cell complexes, called primal and dual AT-segmentations of C. The respective cells of these two complexes are connected regions (set of cells) of the original cell complex C, which are specified by the integral operator of AT(C). In this work in progress, we successfully use this model (a) in experiments for discriminating topologically different 3D digital objects, having the same Euler characteristic and (b) in designing a parallel algorithm for computing potentially significant (co)homological information of 3D digital objects.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MTM2016-81030-PMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad TEC2012-37868-C04-0

Homological Region Adjacency Tree for a 3D Binary Digital Image via HSF Model

Given a 3D binary digital image I, we define and compute an edge-weighted tree, called Homological Region Tree (or Hom-Tree, for short). It coincides, as unweighted graph, with the classical Region Adjacency Tree of black 6-connected components (CCs) and white 26- connected components of I. In addition, we define the weight of an edge (R, S) as the number of tunnels that the CCs R and S “share”. The Hom-Tree structure is still an isotopic invariant of I. Thus, it provides information about how the different homology groups interact between them, while preserving the duality of black and white CCs. An experimentation with a set of synthetic images showing different shapes and different complexity of connected component nesting is performed for numerically validating the method.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad MTM2016-81030-

A parallel Homological Spanning Forest framework for 2D topological image analysis

In [14], a topologically consistent framework to support parallel topological analysis and recognition for2 D digital objects was introduced. Based on this theoretical work, we focus on the problem of findingefficient algorithmic solutions for topological interrogation of a 2 D digital object of interest D of a pre- segmented digital image I , using 4-adjacency between pixels of D . In order to maximize the degree ofparallelization of the topological processes, we use as many elementary unit processing as pixels theimage I has. The mathematical model underlying this framework is an appropriate extension of the clas- sical concept of abstract cell complex: a primal–dual abstract cell complex (pACC for short). This versatiledata structure encompasses the notion of Homological Spanning Forest fostered in [14,15]. Starting froma symmetric pACC associated with I , the modus operandi is to construct via combinatorial operationsanother asymmetric one presenting the maximal number of non-null primal elementary interactions be- tween the cells of D . The fundamental topological tools have been transformed so as to promote anefficient parallel implementation in any parallel-oriented architecture (GPUs, multi-threaded computers,SIMD kernels and so on). A software prototype modeling such a parallel framework is built.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TEC2012-37868-C04-02/0

Toward Parallel Computation of Dense Homotopy Skeletons for nD Digital Objects

An appropriate generalization of the classical notion of abstract cell complex, called primal-dual abstract cell complex (pACC for short) is the combinatorial notion used here for modeling and analyzing the topology of nD digital objects and images. Let D ⊂ I be a set of n-xels (ROI) and I be a n-dimensional digital image.We design a theoretical parallel algorithm for constructing a topologically meaningful asymmetric pACC HSF(D), called Homological Spanning Forest of D (HSF of D, for short) starting from a canonical symmetric pACC associated to I and based on the application of elementary homotopy operations to activate the pACC processing units. From this HSF-graph representation of D, it is possible to derive complete homology and homotopy information of it. The preprocessing procedure of computing HSF(I) is thoroughly discussed. In this way, a significant advance in understanding how the efficient HSF framework for parallel topological computation of 2D digital images developed in [2] can be generalized to higher dimension is made.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TEC2016-77785-PMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad MTM2016-81030-

Labeling Color 2D Digital Images in Theoretical Near Logarithmic Time

A design of a parallel algorithm for labeling color flat zones (precisely, 4-connected components) of a gray-level or color 2D digital image is given. The technique is based in the construction of a particular Homological Spanning Forest (HSF) structure for encoding topological information of any image.HSFis a pair of rooted trees connecting the image elements at inter-pixel level without redundancy. In order to achieve a correct color zone labeling, our proposal here is to correctly building a sub- HSF structure for each image connected component, modifying an initial HSF of the whole image. For validating the correctness of our algorithm, an implementation in OCTAVE/MATLAB is written and its results are checked. Several kinds of images are tested to compute the number of iterations in which the theoretical computing time differs from the logarithm of the width plus the height of an image. Finally, real images are to be computed faster than random images using our approach.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TEC2016-77785-PMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad MTM2016-81030-

A Parallel Implementation for Computing the Region-Adjacency-Tree of a Segmentation of a 2D Digital Image

A design and implementation of a parallel algorithm for computing the Region-Adjacency Tree of a given segmentation of a 2D digital image is given. The technique is based on a suitable distributed use of the algorithm for computing a Homological Spanning Forest (HSF) structure for each connected region of the segmentation and a classical geometric algorithm for determining inclusion between regions. The results show that this technique scales very well when executed in a multicore processor.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TEC2012-37868-C04-02Universidad de Sevilla 2014/75

An eLearning Standard Approach for Supporting PBL in Computer Engineering

Problem-based learning (PBL) has proved to be a highly successful pedagogical model in many fields, although it is not that common in computer engineering. PBL goes beyond the typical teaching methodology by promoting student interaction. This paper presents a PBL trial applied to a course in a computer engineering degree at the University of Seville, Spain. To promote the reusability and interoperability of the PBL trial, a design-driven approach was used, based on the Internet protocol Multimedia Subsystems (IMS) Learning Design (LD) standard. This paper presents the outcomes of using this method to innovate teaching practices in a blended learning environment. Design and implementation results, as well as users' opinions, are presented and analyzed.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TIN2006-15617-C03-03Junta de Andalucía P06-TIC-0229

Using virtual potential fields for electric wheelchair guidance

TetraNauta is an electric wheelchair guidance system intended for people with heavy motion impairments (such as persons with tetraplegia). It is specially useful when impairments also affect wheelchair steering as it is able to automatically guide wheelchairs between different points in a known environment (a hospital, a school, etc), conditioned with track marks painted on the floor. It also provides a semiautomatic navigation mode, where control is shared between user and navigation system. It is intended for learning wheelchair manipulation and as an aid in places where navigation is difficult or dangerous (i.e. for crossing narrow corridors)

Robotics software frameworks for multi-agent robotic systems development

Robotics is an area of research in which the paradigm of Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) can prove to be highly useful. Multi-Agent Systems come in the form of cooperative robots in a team, sensor networks based on mobile robots, and robots in Intelligent Environments, to name but a few. However, the development of Multi-Agent Robotic Systems (MARS) still presents major challenges. Over the past decade, a high number of Robotics Software Frameworks (RSFs) have appeared which propose some solutions to the most recurrent problems in robotics. Some of these frameworks, such as ROS, YARP, OROCOS, ORCA, Open-RTM, and Open-RDK, possess certain characteristics and provide the basic infrastructure necessary for the development of MARS. The contribution of this work is the identification of such characteristics as well as the analysis of these frameworks in comparison with the general-purpose Multi-Agent System Frameworks (MASFs), such as JADE and Mobile-C.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TEC2009-10639-C04-02Junta de Andalucía P06-TIC-2298Junta de Andalucía P08-TIC-0386