Uncertainty-aware estimation of population abundance using machine learning

Machine Learning is widely used for mining collections, such as images, sounds, or texts, by classifying their elements into categories. Automatic classification based on supervised learning requires groundtruth datasets for modeling the elements to classify, and for testing the quality of the classification. Because collecting groundtruth is tedious, a method for estimating the potential errors in large datasets based on limited groundtruth is needed. We propose a method that improves classification quality by using limited groundtruth data to extrapolate the po-tential errors in larger datasets. It significantly improves the counting of elements per class. We further propose visualization designs for understanding and evaluating the classification un-certainty. They support end-users in considering the impact of potential misclassifications for interpreting the classification output. This work was developed to address the needs of ecologists studying fish population abundance using computer vision, but generalizes to a larger range of applications. Our method is largely applicable for a variety of Machine Learning technologies, and our visualizations further support their transfer to end-users

Terrestrial laser scanning for plot-scale forest measurement

Plot-scale measurements have been the foundation for forest surveys and reporting for over 200 years. Through recent integration with airborne and satellite remote sensing, manual measurements of vegetation structure at the plot scale are now the basis for landscape, continental and international mapping of our forest resources. The use of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) for plot-scale measurement was first demonstrated over a decade ago, with the intimation that these instruments could replace manual measurement methods. This has not yet been the case, despite the unparalleled structural information that TLS can capture. For TLS to reach its full potential, these instruments cannot be viewed as a logical progression of existing plot-based measurement. TLS must be viewed as a disruptive technology that requires a rethink of vegetation surveys and their application across a wide range of disciplines. We review the development of TLS as a plotscale measurement tool, including the evolution of both instrument hardware and key data processing methodologies. We highlight two broad data modelling approaches of gap probability and geometrical modelling and the basic theory that underpins these. Finally, we discuss the future prospects for increasing the utilisation of TLS for plot-scale forest assessment and forest monitoring

Development of a System to Invert Eddy-Current Data and Reconstruct Flaws

In this report we describe an approach to the reconstruction of flaws, not merely their detection. This will give us the ability to obtain much more information about the nature of the flaw. By “flaw” we mean virtually any departure of the medium from a standard condition, which is known a priori, such as may be produced not only by a crack but also by conductivity in homogeneities produced by stresses, magnetite build-up, etc. Our approach is very much in the spirit of contemporary work in inverse methods in electromagnetics [1–3] and electromagnetic-geophysical prospecting [4–11].</p