Retrieval and Clustering from a 3D Human Database based on Body and Head Shape

In this paper, we describe a framework for similarity based retrieval and clustering from a 3D human database. Our technique is based on both body and head shape representation and the retrieval is based on similarity of both of them. The 3D human database used in our study is the CAESAR anthropometric database which contains approximately 5000 bodies. We have developed a web-based interface for specifying the queries to interact with the retrieval system. Our approach performs the similarity based retrieval in a reasonable amount of time and is a practical approach.Comment: Published in Proceedings of the 2006 Digital Human Modeling for Design and Engineering Conference, July 2006, Lyon, FRANCE, Session: Advanced Size/Shape Analysis Paper Number: 2006-01-2355 http://papers.sae.org/2006-01-235

Face Recognition using 3D Facial Shape and Color Map Information: Comparison and Combination

In this paper, we investigate the use of 3D surface geometry for face recognition and compare it to one based on color map information. The 3D surface and color map data are from the CAESAR anthropometric database. We find that the recognition performance is not very different between 3D surface and color map information using a principal component analysis algorithm. We also discuss the different techniques for the combination of the 3D surface and color map information for multi-modal recognition by using different fusion approaches and show that there is significant improvement in results. The effectiveness of various techniques is compared and evaluated on a dataset with 200 subjects in two different positions.Comment: Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 5404 Biometric Technology for Human Identification, Anil K. Jain; Nalini K. Ratha, Editors, pp.351-361, ISBN: 9780819453273 Date: 25 August 200

Declarative Integration of Interactive 3D Graphics into the World-Wide Web: Principles, Current Approaches, and Research Agenda

International audienceWith the advent of WebGL, plugin-free hardware-accelerated interactive 3D graphics has finally arrived in all major Web browsers. WebGL is an imperative solution that is tied to the functionality of rasterization APIs. Consequently, its usage requires a deeper understanding of the rasterization pipeline. In contrast to this stands a declarative approach with an abstract description of the 3D scene. We strongly believe that such approach is more suitable for the integration of 3D into HTML5 and related Web technologies, as those concepts are well-known by millions of Web developers and therefore crucial for the fast adoption of 3D on the Web. Hence, in this paper we explore the options for new declarative ways of incorporating 3D graphics directly into HTML to enable its use on any Web page. We present declarative 3D principles that guide the work of the Declarative 3D for the Web Architecture W3C Community Group and describe the current state of the fundamentals to this initiative. Finally, we draw an agenda for the next development stages of Declarative 3D for the Web

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Making VRML accessible for people with disabilities

This paper describes a set of techniques for improving access to Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) environments for people with disabilities. These range from simple textual additions to the VRML file to scripts which aid in the creation of more accessible worlds. We also propose an initial set of guidelines authors can use to improve VRML accessibility. 1.1 Keywords VRML, virtual environments, navigational aids, accessibility, audio feedback, data access, speech input, user interfaces

Approaches using virtual environments with mosaic

This paper describes two ways to use a computer generated environment with Mosaic. Two approaches are taken. The first is to allow the user to interact with an environment displayed as part of the Mosaic document, an in-line image. The second is to create an independent process with which the user can have high bandwidth interaction, i.e. real time manipulations, which can drive Mosaic remotely. In the first case an in-line picture of a space can be “walked-through ” by allowing the user to select buttons which move the point-of-view of the user forward, backward, left or right. Each user selection causes a network request to the Mosaic server which renders a new scene and/or loads a new HTML page. This method has the advantage of being a pure Mosaic application and issues of portability are minimized, however at the cost of performance. Using the second method, creating an independent process, a user is allowed to interact with a graphical process running on the user’s workstation. At appropriate times in the interaction the user selects an object. Objects can have a URL associated which causes the Mosaic process to go to that URL using the remote control facility in the X versio