Visual tracking for sports applications

Visual tracking of the human body has attracted increasing attention due to the potential to perform high volume low cost analyses of motions in a wide range of applications, including sports training, rehabilitation and security. In this paper we present the development of a visual tracking module for a system aimed to be used as an autonomous instructional aid for amateur golfers. Postural information is captured visually and fused with information from a golf swing analyser mat and both visual and audio feedback given based on the golfer's mistakes. Results from the visual tracking module are presented

Autonomous Sports Training from Visual Cues

Computer driven biometric analysis of athlete's movements have proven themselves as effective sports training tools. Most current systems rely on the use of retro-reflective markers or magnetic sensors to capture the motion of the athlete, so the biometric analysis can be performed. Video based training tools have also proved to be valuable instructional aids, however most require significant human interaction for analysis to be performed. This paper outlines an ongoing project focussed on capturing posture without the use of any markers or sensors, while still capturing enough information for an automated analysis to be performed. The approach taken to solving this problem is presented, as well as the current state of development of a an instructional aid for golfers

Perceptual adaptation by normally hearing listeners to a simulated "hole" in hearing

Simulations of cochlear implants have demonstrated that the deleterious effects of a frequency misalignment between analysis bands and characteristic frequencies at basally shifted simulated electrode locations are significantly reduced with training. However, a distortion of frequency-to-place mapping may also arise due to a region of dysfunctional neurons that creates a "hole" in the tonotopic representation. This study simulated a 10 mm hole in the mid-frequency region. Noise-band processors were created with six output bands (three apical and three basal to the hole). The spectral information that would have been represented in the hole was either dropped or reassigned to bands on either side. Such reassignment preserves information but warps the place code, which may in itself impair performance. Normally hearing subjects received three hours of training in two reassignment conditions. Speech recognition improved considerably with training. Scores were much lower in a baseline (untrained) condition where information from the hole region was dropped. A second group of subjects trained in this dropped condition did show some improvement; however, scores after training were significantly lower than in the reassignment conditions. These results are consistent with the view that speech processors should present the most informative frequency range irrespective of frequency misalignment. 0 2006 Acoustical Society of America

Ultraviolet Imaging of the Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae

We have used the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope to obtain deep far-UV (1620 Angstrom), 40' diameter images of the prototypical metal-rich globular cluster 47 Tucanae. We find a population of about 20 hot (Teff > 9000 K) objects near or above the predicted UV luminosity of the hot horizontal branch (HB) and lying within two half-light radii of the cluster center. We believe these are normal hot HB or post-HB objects rather than interacting binaries or blue stragglers. IUE spectra of two are consistent with post-HB phases. These observations, and recent HST photometry of two other metal-rich clusters, demonstrate that populations with rich, cool HB's can nonetheless produce hot HB and post-HB stars. The cluster center also contains an unusual diffuse far-UV source which is more extended than its V-band light. It is possible that this is associated with an intracluster medium, for which there was earlier infrared and X-ray evidence, and is produced by C IV emission or scattered light from grains.Comment: 13 pages AASLaTeX including one postscript figure and one bitmapped image, JPEG format. Submitted to the Astronomical Jorunal. Full Postscript version available at http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~bd4r

Isotopic Signature of Massive, Buried Ice in Eastern Taylor Valley, Antarctica: Implications for Its Origin

The coastal regions of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, contain deposits of the Ross Sea Drift, sedimentary material left from the Ross Sea ice sheet from the advance of the West Antarctic ice sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum. Much of this deposit is ice-cored, but data on the stable isotopic composition of water from this ice, which may contain a valuable climate archive, are sparse or incomplete. Widespread thermokarstic ground subsidence in this “coastal thaw zone” of the McMurdo Dry Valleys suggests that these potential records are rapidly being lost due to the melting of ground ice and permafrost. We collected samples of massive buried ice from the Ross Sea Drift in eastern Taylor Valley for δ18O-H2O and δ2H-H2O and measured a broad range of values (δ18O = −27.7 to −37.3 ‰; δ2H = −210 to −295 ‰). These buried ice deposits do not show evidence of alteration through sublimation or evaporation, plot along the local meteoric water line, and have values that indicate ice deposition under a colder climate than present conditions. We propose that this ice was sourced from the Ross Sea ice sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum and contains a valuable and accessible climate record

Nest Success and Duckling Survival of Greater Scaup, Aythya marila, at Grassy Island, New Brunswick

Nesting biology and duckling survival of Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) at Grassy Island on the Saint John River in southern New Brunswick were compared between 1995 and 1996. Grassy Island in New Brunswick is an area that is notably removed from other scaup breeding areas, being located farther south from main breeding areas in North America. The Mayfield estimates of nest success were 61% and 21% in 1995 and 1996, respectively. Mean daily survival rates were 0.99 in 1995 and 0.96 in 1996 and were significantly different (t = 4.86, P < 0.001). Duckling survival was estimated to range from 38 to 54% in 1995, and was 8% in 1996. The lower breeding success in 1996 may have been due to factors associated with decreased temperatures and increased precipitation, but the fact that the breeding location is atypical to other Greater Scaup breeding areas should not be overlooked