User-Centred Design and Development of an Intelligent Light Switch for Sensor Systems

The aim of the research was the user-centred design of an intelligent light switch with a focus on the definition of the natural and intuitive gestures for its manipulation, and to develop a multi-touch user interface and smart touch-based light switch that could be integrated into existing home environments and electrical wiring, with or without an existing intelligent system. After usability testing a prototype of the switch was constructed. The touch-panel, as the main interface, gave the users the ability to control one or more individual lights or light groups. The intuitive touch gestures for controlling the lighting were acquired with paper prototypes that were used for testing, and then integrated in the physical prototype. The results show that user-centred design is a valuable method for creating an intelligent touch-based light switch with a good user experience design, with or without a multi-touch user interface, and thus an approach that should be implemented in the development of a smart product

Modelling and Visualisation of the Optical Properties of Cloth

Cloth and garment visualisations are widely used in fashion and interior design, entertaining, automotive and nautical industry and are indispensable elements of visual communication. Modern appearance models attempt to offer a complete solution for the visualisation of complex cloth properties. In the review part of the chapter, advanced methods that enable visualisation at micron resolution, methods used in three-dimensional (3D) visualisation workflow and methods used for research purposes are presented. Within the review, those methods offering a comprehensive approach and experiments on explicit clothes attributes that present specific optical phenomenon are analysed. The review of appearance models includes surface and image-based models, volumetric and explicit models. Each group is presented with the representative authors’ research group and the application and limitations of the methods. In the final part of the chapter, the visualisation of cloth specularity and porosity with an uneven surface is studied. The study and visualisation was performed using image data obtained with photography. The acquisition of structure information on a large scale namely enables the recording of structure irregularities that are very common on historical textiles, laces and also on artistic and experimental pieces of cloth. The contribution ends with the presentation of cloth visualised with the use of specular and alpha maps, which is the result of the image processing workflow

Rendering Techniques in 3D Computer Graphics Based on Changes in the Brightness of the Object Background

Maintaining accurate colour constancy and constant colour appearance are only a few challenges one must conquer in a modern day digital three‐dimensional (3D) production. Many different factors influence the reproduction of colour in 3D rendering and one of the most important is certainly rendering engines. In our research, we have studied rendering of colours with three rendering engines (Blender Render, Cycles and Yafaray) of an open source 3D creation suite based on changes in the brightness of the object background from 20 to 80%. In one of these cases, colour of the object was adapted to the lighter background using the colour appearance model CIECAM02. With the analysis of colour differences, lightness and chroma between colours rendered using different rendering engines; we found out that rendering engines differently interpret colour, although the RGB values of colours and scene parameters were the same. Differences were particularly evident when rendering engine Cycles was used. However, Cycles also takes into account the object background. Numerical results of such research provide findings, which relate to the respective environment, and also these certainly demonstrate the successful implementation of the colour appearance model CIECAM02 in the 3D technologies and, in our opinion to other software packages for 3D computer graphics

The Role of Light and Shadow in the Perception of Photographs

The photographer\u27s awareness of the light in the scene is the key to good exposure, whether it is technically correct or an expression of creativity. The article deals with the role of light and its absence, shadow, in the field of photography. Several studies from history and the present are presented, linking the perception of light and its shadows from philosophical, artistic and technological points of view, illustrating the vastness and applicability of this field of research. Summarized studies and an eye tracking analysis of shadow perception support the author\u27s claims about the role of light and shadow in the perception of Henri Cartier-Bresson\u27s photographs. It is shown how shadows can reveal more to the viewer about the space surrounding the observed scene, function as individual objects, or even be used creatively to enhance the detection of focus within a photograph

Colorimetric Accuracy of Color Reproductions in the 3D Scenes

Color is a complex phenomenon that depends on the object, the observer and the light source, while the color reproduction additionally includes the surrounding conditions and it depends on the device that can either capture, display or print the reproduction. Colour accuracy is very important for digital reproduction of artistic work where colour represents essence of art. In our research, color reproductions of renderings of computer generated scenes, including an object, background and lights were assessed, and even more, colorimetric accuracy in renderings was analyzed. With assumption that shading in 3D computer generated scenes plays an important role in visual perception of rendered color, the colors were analyzed on renderings of shaded objects. It was determined that colorimetric accuracy depends on the position on rendered objects, either illuminated or shaded. Furthermore, it was discovered that color lightness and hue, light intensity and background influenced ΔRGB values

The reinterpretation of classical art in digital format

The reinterpretation of classical arts in digital art is the basic framework in which the world is moving with the help of two concepts classically and digitally. It is important to know how much digital art has helped and ease the consumption of art among the broad masses on the one hand, while on the other hand it is the classic basis for everything. The phenomena of “From pigment to pixel” is the focus of this research, or how the aesthetics of classical use are in the epoch of digital. The instrument for transferring elements from one to the other meaning system or art discourse, or as an act of creation that strategically applies to existing artistic or non-artistic creations as a building for the construction of a new artistic creation, is called appropriation. The aim of the paper is to analytically review the most important works that are the state-of-the-art in the transfer of meanings “From pigment to pixel” and to interpretively present new assumptions, synthesis and analogies that are raised from a new paradigm of observing this phenomena in the art and the technology. After a review of history in pixel-pigment implementations the paper addresses and critically discusses the works of Oliver Laric, as a representative artist that creatively interlaces the physical and digital giving new meaning to the reinterpretations of classical arts in digital forms. In the final part of the analytical review the manifestation of avatars and digital body (body and identity) are presented and discussed. In the conclusions the authors’ study is summed up with three interpretative observations that give the initiative also for further researches in the field

Time and Spatial Eye-Tracking Analysis of Face Observing and Recognition

Facial images are one of the most common images in the online and offline media, which raises the question as to how people look at and remember faces. The aim of our research was to determine relation between fixation duration and saccade length in the observation process, recognition performance and furthermore to find possible relation between recognition performance and portion of observation time for internal facial features. The observation test was designed to perform time (fixations) and spatial (saccades) eye-tracking analysis when observing the facial images for three different dimensions and four different presentation times (1 second, 2 seconds, 4 seconds and 8 seconds). Recognition test showed how different presentation time and different dimensions of face image influenced recognition performance. For the recognition performance presentation time is much more important than image dimensions. Furthermore, the analysis of observing the internal facial features (eyes, nose and mouth) was also carried out. All results revealed that 4 seconds of observation time is turning point in face observation. For the 4 seconds observation test fixation duration and saccade length reached constant value, wrong recognition dropped significantly and portion of observation internal facial features reached lowest point and then increased for longer observation times

Theoretical Prediction of Colours and Illuminants in sRGB Colour Space

Photometric parameters and the evaluation of colour phenomena based on real human perception of light and colour were introduced into colour science in the first half of the 20th century. However, in the last two decades some known software programs for 3D computer graphics attempt to simulate realistic light source and optical effects with the help of photometric parameters. The reason for somewhat late arrival of such software applications can be found in the prevalent use of RGB colour space and the complexity of achieving realistic light source and colour effects. The aim of the research was to write and implement a simple gamut compression algorithm that will make colour transformation from input XYZ data to appropriate RGB data of sRGB colour space within large number of colours (1872) and different illuminants (16), and also to define appropriate light source intensity in 3D modelling software to achieve optimal matching of simulated and real photographic lights with predefined RGB values. Due to discrepancies between real light sources and the interpretation of light source colours in 3D, RGB colours of sRGB had to be adjusted with calibration procedure developed. The results of the research offer the possibility for theoretical prediction of virtual colours and light source intensity for different colours of light sources

The Use of New Media in a Dialectal Dictionary: the Example of Slovar starega orodja v govoru Loškega Potoka

V prispevku so predstavljeni zasnova in uresničitev narečnega tematskega slovarja, ki mu nove tehnološke možnosti omogočajo, da je spletni oziroma e-slovar, interaktivni (z multimedijskimi vsebinami) in rastoči (dopolnjujoči), poleg tega pa ima tudi estetsko celostno grafično podobo, kar vse vpliva na potencialne uporabnike.Ovaj članak predstavlja koncept i realizaciju dijalektnoga tematskoga rječnika, kome elektronički medij nudi mogućnost da bude online ili e-rječnik, interaktivan (s multimedijskim sadržajima) i komplementaran, a također da ima integriran estetski grafički dizajn, što sve utječe na potencijalne korisnike.The paper presents the design and implementation of a thematic dialectal dictionary that uses new technological possibilities of e-media to be transformed into an e-dictionary. It is web-based, interactive (with multimedia content), and growing (supplementing articles), it has an aesthetic graphic identity. All this influences the potential endusers

Theoretical Prediction of Colours and Illuminants in sRGB Colour Space

Photometric parameters and the evaluation of colour phenomena based on real human perception of light and colour were introduced into colour science in the first half of the 20th century. However, in the last two decades some known software programs for 3D computer graphics attempt to simulate realistic light source and optical effects with the help of photometric parameters. The reason for somewhat late arrival of such software applications can be found in the prevalent use of RGB colour space and the complexity of achieving realistic light source and colour effects. The aim of the research was to write and implement a simple gamut compression algorithm that will make colour transformation from input XYZ data to appropriate RGB data of sRGB colour space within large number of colours (1872) and different illuminants (16), and also to define appropriate light source intensity in 3D modelling software to achieve optimal matching of simulated and real photographic lights with predefined RGB values. Due to discrepancies between real light sources and the interpretation of light source colours in 3D, RGB colours of sRGB had to be adjusted with calibration procedure developed. The results of the research offer the possibility for theoretical prediction of virtual colours and light source intensity for different colours of light sources