Perception is a key feature in how any creature or autonomous system relates to its environment. While there are many types of perception, this thesis focuses on the improvement of the visual robotics perception systems. By implementing a broadband passive sensing system in conjunction with current perception algorithms, this thesis explores scene reconstruction and world modeling. The process involves two main steps. The first is stereo correspondence using block matching algorithms with filtering to improve the quality of this matching process. The disparity maps are then transformed into 3D point clouds. These point clouds are filtered again before the registration process is done. The registration uses a SAC-IA matching technique to align the point clouds with minimum error.  The registered final cloud is then filtered again to smooth and down sample the large amount of data. This process was implemented through software architecture that utilizes Qt, OpenCV, and Point Cloud Library. It was tested using a variety of experiments on each of the components of the process.  It shows promise for being able to replace or augment existing UGV perception systems in the future. / Master of Science

[pt] A avaliação das condições do mar por meio de instrumentos in situ na zona de surfe é muito desafiante. Nesse ambiente, temos a quebra das ondas e presença de banhistas. A quebra das ondas gera grande dissipação de energia, o que pode danificar os instrumentos e possivelmente causar um choque entre o instrumento e os banhistas. Uma solução para auferir as condições do mar com sensor remoto pode apresentar grande vantagem. Neste trabalho, é proposto um método de visão computacional tradicional, uma vez que não há um banco público de imagens de ondas para a utilização de redes neurais. Utilizamos câmeras de rede convecionais e de baixo custo já largamente instaladas nos principais pontos de surfe do Brasil e do mundo fazendo com que o nosso método fique mais acessível a todos. Com ele, conseguimos extrair propriedades das ondas, como distância, frequência, direção, posição no mundo, percurso, velocidade, intervalo entre séries e altura da face da onda, e prover uma análise quantitativa das condições do mar. Esses dados devem servir às áreas de Oceanografia, de Engenharia Costeira, de Segurança do mar e ao novo esporte olímpico: surfe. / [en] Evaluating sea conditions in the nearshore through in situ instruments can be challenging. This environment is exposed to wave breaking and civilian recreation. Wave breaking dissipates energy, which can lead to damaging the instrument and possibly causing shock with civilians. A solution to acquire sea conditions data through remote sensing can be of great advantage. This work, presents a traditional computer vision method, since there is no public wave image dataset. Low cost conventional network cameras are used, which are already installed in the main surfing spots around the world makng our method more accessible to the general public. With it, we are able to extract wave properties such as length, frequency, direction, world position, path, speed and sets interval. This data should serve as input to areas such as Oceanography, Coast Engineering, water safety and the new Olympic Game: Surfing.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to explore police officer perception of body cameras. There had been little previous research done on the police officer perception of body cameras in rural areas. Several research questions were pursued, including the impact of body cameras on citizens, the impact of body cameras on police officers, use of force and body cameras, body cameras effects on calls, and the officers’ support of body cameras. The study gathered data through qualitative interviews with 16 police officers in East Tennessee to address these questions. Results obtained provided interesting and useful information regarding the police perception of body cameras, which are discussed in detail. Implication of the research as well as ways to further the research are discussed as well.

Ecotourism offers a non-consumptive form of economic activity globally. Human activity, however, might negatively affect the ecology of areas and their biota, likely varying with type and intensity of ecotourism. Wildlife, for example, might perceive ecotourists as predators, and adjust behaviour accordingly (i.e., human avoidance). Alternatively, wildlife might actually seek human activity if it protects them from greater risks (Human Shield Hypothesis). The Anthropause, a period of decreased human activity due to COVID-19, provided unparalleled opportunity to examine wildlife behaviour when perceived risks from humans were removed. In partnership with the Kitasoo Xai’xais First Nation (KX), we assessed if and how ecotourism, in the form of bear-viewing, might influence spatial and temporal activity of grizzly bears. We deployed remote cameras in the Khutze watershed in 2020 in the absence of human use. To provide increased inference when tourism resumed in 2021, KX implemented alternating spatial closure experiments within the watershed. Additionally, in 2021 we implemented a tourist group size experiment in a second watershed, Green River. In Khutze, we found that a closure of 25 days was required for bear detection rate to return to the 2020 (non-ecotourism) level. We did not observe an influence of the alternating within-watershed north-south closures on activity. The data also revealed complex relationships among bear detections, ecotourism activity, and salmon availability, varying by age and sex of bears. Specifically, we found a human shield effect for females with young when salmon levels were moderate to high, but this effect diminished in times of low salmon. An activity pattern analysis in Khutze did not show an effect of ecotourism. In Green, where inference was likely constrained by our short-term experiment, we found a positive influence of the number of days since people were present on detection rate. We additionally found temporal avoidance of within 100m of the viewing site on days when people were present. These patterns from both watersheds show the complex ways in which wildlife can respond to even seemingly benign human presence. Inference from this research has application to wildlife, land, and ecotour management by the KX, who are reasserting authority in governance. More broadly, this study contributes to literature on the dynamic landscape of fear induced by spatiotemporal variation in human activity. / Graduate / 2023-09-09

Användningen av termisk infraröd strålning sprider sig till nya användningsområden. Ett område är säkerhetsövervakning via värmekameror. Värmekameror har en fördel jämfört med vanliga säkerhetskameror som endast bearbetar synligt ljus eftersom detta inte påverkar värmekameran i samma utsträckning. Syftet med detta projekt är att undersöka möjligheter för att åstadkomma högre noggrannhet i temperaturmätningar med en värmekamera. Genom att använda oss av tekniker som används som bästa praxis inom liknande områden kalibreras vår värmekamera till högre noggrannhet. Detta med hjälp av tekniker som två-punktskalibrering med svartkroppar för att få ett referensvärde för två olika temperaturer. Därefter kan andra okända temperaturer beräknas. Vi använder oss av medelvärdesbildning för att bli av med temporalt och spatialt brus. Med denna metod får vi en bättre bild av genomsnittstemperaturen för varje värmebild. Vår kalibrering av värmekameran testas sedan i ett experiment där vi mätte högerhänderna på testpersonerna. Dessa resultat jämförs sedan med en annan värmekamera som inte kalibrerats. Testresultaten visar att vi lyckats uppnå en högre noggrannhet av värmekameran med en variation högst 0.348°C vid mätning av en människas hudtemperatur. Detta visar att kalibreringen är i allmänhet gynnsam. / The usage of thermal infrared radiation spreads to new fields. One area of use is security monitoring with thermal cameras. Thermal cameras have an advantage over regular security cameras which only processes visible light as this does not affect the thermal camera to the same extent. The purpose of this project is to investigate the possibilities for achieving higher accuracy in temperature measurement with a thermal camera. By using best practice methods applied in similar areas, our thermal camera is calibrated to measure temperature with a higher accuracy. Methods such as two- point calibration with black bodies are used to get two reference values from two different temperatures. The reference values can then be used to calculate unknown temperatures. Image averaging is applied to get rid of temporal and spatial noise. This method provides a clearer thermogram of the average temperature. Our calibration of the thermal camera is tested in an experiment where we measure the right hands of test subjects. These results are compared with the results measured from a non-calibrated thermal camera. The test results show that we managed to achieve a higher accuracy with the thermal camera with a maximum variation of 0.348°C when measuring human skin temperature. This shows that the calibration is generally favorable.

<p> In this thesis the problem of object recognition/pose estimation using active sensing is investigated. It is assumed that multiple cameras acquire images from different view angles of an object belonging to a set of a priori known objects. The eigenspace method is used to process the sensory observations and produce an abstract measurement vector. This step is necessary to avoid the manipulation of the original sensor data, i.e. large images, that can render the sensor modelling and matching process practically infeasible.</p> <p> The eigenspace representation is known to have shortcomings in dealing with structured noise such as occlusion. To overcome this problem, models of occlusions and sensor noise have been incorporated into the probabilistic model of sensor/object to increase robustness with respect to such uncertainties. The active recognition algorithm has also been modified to consider the possibility of occlusion, as well as variation in the occlusion levels due to camera movements.</p> <p> A recursive Bayesian state estimation problem is formulated to model the observation uncertainties through a probabilistic scheme. This enables us to identify the object and estimate its pose by fusing the information obtained from individual cameras. To this end, an extensive training step is performed, providing the system with the sensor model required for the Bayesian estimation. In order to enhance the quality of the estimates and to reduce the number of images taken, we employ active real-time viewpoint planning strategies to position cameras. For that purpose, the positions of cameras are controlled based on two different statistical performance criteria, namely the Mutual Information (MI) and Cramér-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB).</p> <p> A multi-camera active vision system has been developed in order to implement the ideas proposed in this thesis. Comparative Monte Carlo experiments conducted with the two-camera system demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods in object classification/pose estimation in the presence of structured noise. Different concepts introduced in this work, i.e., the multi-camera data fusion, the occlusion modelling, and the active camera movement, all improve the recognition process significantly. Specifically, these approaches all increase the recognition rate, decrease the number of steps taken before recognition is completed, and enhance robustness with respect to partial occlusion considerably.</p> / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

The Large Format Camera is a high resolution wide-angle mapping camera. It will be carried into orbit as a payload in the Shuttle Orbiter vehicle's cargo bay. A mapping camera must be calibrated to determine precise values for its elements of interior orientation. The Large Format Camera was calibrated by the stellar method of camera calibration. Descriptions of the procedure used by the National Ocean Service to calibrate the Large Format Camera are included. / Master of Engineering

This thesis explores the influences of provincial grant programs on Canadian streetscape camera systems. Using qualitative interviews (N=32) and document analysis, the study explores the policymaking processes and outcomes of six Ontario cities that have engaged with the Civil Remedies and Proceeds of Crime grants. Grant programs have not only provided the financial support to facilitate the establishment or expansion of camera systems, but they have also encouraged particular patterns of implementation, design and operation of Canadian streetscape systems through the processes and conditions of the grant program, as well as through the encouragement of regional networking, policy learning and policy diffusion via policy tourism. While the Civil Remedies and Proceeds of Crime grants have influenced some similarities in streetscape camera systems, variation exists, particularly concerning privacy policies, due to idiosyncratic interpretation and adoption of diffused policies and an ambiguous and unclear privacy protection framework. / Graduate / 0626 / 0627 / dennymah@uvic.ca

Submitted by Cássia Santos (cassia.bcufg@gmail.com) on 2017-02-22T11:00:53Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Spiridon Nicofotis Anyfantis - 2004.pdf: 1754042 bytes, checksum: 3be2f4d514c73ade66e257c0e0b50294 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2017-02-22T13:17:29Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Spiridon Nicofotis Anyfantis - 2004.pdf: 1754042 bytes, checksum: 3be2f4d514c73ade66e257c0e0b50294 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-22T13:17:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Spiridon Nicofotis Anyfantis - 2004.pdf: 1754042 bytes, checksum: 3be2f4d514c73ade66e257c0e0b50294 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004-03-02 / It concerns an essay about the evidences in the penal procedure and its way of production by means of image captation and recordings, whether by hidden cameras or safety ones. It´s composed of five chapters which analyses, respectively, the penal evidence in its particularities and afterwards, the theme of the illegal evidences making, inclusively, a counterpoint between proof illicitness and the proportionateness principle. It still studies the theme of exceptions to the theory of illegal proofs – named by argentinean and spanish exception of the exclusionary rule. They´re studied, briefly, intimacy aspects and individual private life, with subtle distinctions and similarities. Soon after it goes to an analyses regarding the original image recordings evidence – by ostensive cameras and hidden ones – and its use in the penal procedure, specially when used in work places, investigative journalism, private and public places among other circumstances. Finally, such images validity hypothesis are evaluated in the penal procedure and suggestions are presented in order to them, in case of being produced, and in very specific cases, can be effectively used in the process without violation to the intimacy and private life of the individual. / Trata-se de estudo sobre a prova no processo penal e sua forma de produção por meio de captação e gravação de imagens, seja por câmeras ocultas ou de segurança. É composto por cinco capítulos onde se analisam, respectivamente, a prova penal em suas particularidades e, em seguida, o tema das provas ilícitas, fazendo-se, inclusive, contraponto entre a ilicitude da prova e o princípio da proporcionalidade. É estudado, ainda, o tema das exceções à teoria das provas ilícitas – denominada pelos argentinos e espanhóis exceções à regra de exclusão probatória. São estudados, sucintamente, aspectos da intimidade e da vida privada do indivíduo, com suas sutis distinções e semelhanças. É analisada a questão das provas originárias de gravações de imagens – por câmeras ostensivas e ocultas - e sua utilização no processo penal, especialmente quando utilizadas em ambientes de trabalho, jornalismo investigativo, ambientes privados e públicos, dentre outras circunstâncias. São avaliadas as hipóteses de validade de tais imagens no processo penal e apresentadas sugestões para que as mesmas, caso produzidas, e em hipóteses muito específicas, possam ser efetivamente utilizadas no processo sem violação à intimidade e vida privada do indivíduo.