<p>In the research of developing arbitrary and unique virtual views from a real- world scene, a prototype of an interactive relief texture mapping system capable of processing video using dynamic image-based rendering, is developed in this master thesis. The process of deriving depth from recorded video using binocular stereopsis is presented, together with how the depth information is adjusted to be able to manipulate the orientation of the original scene. When the scene depth is known, the recorded organic and dynamic objects can be seen from viewpoints not available in the original video.</p>

<p>Ambient Occlusion är en teknik för ambient ljussättning i digitala tredimensionella scener. Sådana scener ljussätts vanligtvis med en konstant mängd ambient ljus på samtliga ytor oberoende av ytornas vinkel och position gentemot olika ljuskällor i scenen. Detta ger ett platt och kalt intryck och utan vidare ljussättningstekniker är det ytterst svårt att urskönja detaljer i scenen. Ambient Occlusion åthjälper detta genom att reducera mängden ambient ljus i vissa delar av scenen. Ambient ljus är en enkel approximation av det reflekterade diffusa ljuset som antas nå nästan överallt i scenen. Genom att sänka det ambienta ljuset på punkter i scenen med tät eller täckande geometri så ger Ambient Occlusion ett intryck av att det sekundära diffusa ljuset ej når dessa platser. Pappret undersöker en äldre variant av Ambient Occlusion där mängden ambient ljus beräknas statiskt för en scen och sparas i texturer. Vidare undersöks nyare metoder där mängden ambient ljus beräknas dynamiskt på den renderade scenen i Pixel Shaders. Det senare tillvägagångssättet kallas Image Based Ambient Occlusion eller Screen Space Ambient Occlusion. Detta nya tillvägagångssätt jämförs mot den traditionella angreppsvinkeln med förberäknade texturer. Teknikerna utvärderas och jämförs mot varandra i avseende på tids- och minneskomplexitet, enkelhet och visuellt resultat utöver specifika egenskaper för de enskilda teknikerna. Arbetets resultat beskrivs i slutet av rapporten. I resultatet presenteras hur shaderteknikerna pga sina brister inte är applicerbara i alla scener.</p>

Renogram in Nuclear Medicine is the main examination for the diagnosis of several diseases in children such as kidney failure or obstructive uropathy. The dosimetry of this examination is based on the group-specific values presented by the ICRP publications. The need for person-specific dosimetry in the Nuclear Medicine urged in the creation of a new image-based dosimetric method, based on the outcome of the examination of the renogram of each patient. With the help of an experimental procedure, the percentage of self-absorption inside the “source” organs and the absorption from the surrounding tissues of the transmitted radiation of the radiopharmaceutical (99m-Tc-MAG3) is calculated, leading with the use of the MIRD method, to the measurement of the activity of Technetium inside the patient’s organs during the renogram’s duration. Afterwards with the help of theoretical models, conclusions and assumptions the total cumulated activity of the patient’s organs is calculated. The results show similar values with other projects published, which were more invasive and less cost-effective for the department. / Στην πυρηνική ιατρική, τα νεφρογράμματα είναι η κύρια εξέταση για την διάγνωση ασθενειών στα παιδιά, όπως η νεφρική ανεπάρκεια και η ουροφρακτική ανεπάρκεια. Η δοσιμετρία αυτών των εξετάσεων στηρίζεται πάνω στα group-specific όρια του ICRP. Η ανάγκη για person-specific δοσιμετρία και στην Πυρηνική Ιατρική ώθησε στη δημιουργία μιας δοσιμετρικής μελέτης που στηρίζεται στην εικόνα (image-based) από το αποτέλεσμα της εξέτασης του νεφρογράμματος του κάθε ασθενή. Με τη βοήθεια μιας πειραματικής διάταξης υπολογίζεται το ποσοστό αυτο-απορρόφησης στα όργανα «στόχους» και το ποσοστό απορρόφησης της εκπεμπόμενης ακτινοβολίας από τους περιβάλλοντες ιστούς, οδηγώντας μαζί με την μέθοδο του MIRD, στον υπολογισμό της ενεργότητας του ραδιοφαρμάκου (99m-Tc-MAG3) μέσα στα όργανα του ασθενή καθ’ όλη την διάρκεια της εξέτασης. Με την βοήθεια θεωρητικών μοντέλων, συμπερασμάτων και υποθέσεων υπολογίζεται η συνολική ακτινική επιβάρυνση του ασθενούς και τα αποτελέσματα δίνουν παραπλήσιες τιμές με άλλες δημοσιευμένες εργασίες, που ακολούθησαν πιο επεμβατικές ή πιο κοστοβόρες για το τμήμα, μεθόδους.

Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Accurate water usage information is very important for municipalities in order to provide accurate billing information for high volume water users. Meter reading are currently obtained by sending a person out to every meter to obtain a manual reading. This is very costly with regards to time and money, and it is also very error prone. In order to improve on this system, an image based telemetry system was developed that can be retrofitted on currently installed bulk water meters. Images of the meter dials are captured and transmitted to a central server where they are further processed and enhanced. Character recognition is performed on the enhanced images in order to extract meter readings. Through tests it was found that characters can be recognised to 100% accuracy for cases which the character recognition software has been trained, and 70% accuracy for cases which is was not trained. Thus, an overall recognition accuracy of 85% was achieved. These results can be improved upon in future work by statistically analysing results and utilizing the inherent heuristic information from the meter dials. Overall the feasibility of the approach was demonstrated and a way forward was indicated. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Dit is belangrik vir munisipaliteite om akkurate water verbruikingssyfers te hê sodat hulle akkurate rekeninge aan hoë volume water gebruikers kan stuur. Tans besoek ’n persoon fisies elke meter om meterlesings te verkry. Dit is egter baie oneffektief ten opsigte van tyd en geld. Die metode is ook baie geneig tot foute. Ten einde te verbeter op hierdie stelsel was ’n beeld gebaseerde telemetrie stelsel ontwerp wat geïnstalleer word op huidig geïnstalleerde hoë volume water meters. Beelde van die meters word na ’n sentrale bediener gestuur waar dit verwerk word en die beeld kwaliteit verbeter word. Karakter herkenning sagteware word gebruik om die meter lesings te verkry vanuit die verbeterde beelde. Deur middel van toetse is gevind dat karakters herken kan word tot op 100% graad van akkuraatheid in gevalle waar die karakter herkenning sagteware opgelei is, en 70% akkuraatheid vir gevalle waarvoor dit nie opgelei was nie. Dus was ’n algehele herkennings akkuraatheid van 85% behaal. Hierdie resultate kan verbeter word in die toekoms deur die resultate statisties te analiseer en die inherente heuristieke inligting van die meter syfers te benutting. Ten slotte, in die tesis was die haalbaarheid van die benadering gedemonstreer en ’n weg vorentoe vir toekomstige werk aangedui.

La présente thèse est consacrée à la modélisation 2D et 3D d’environnements urbains à l’aide de représentations structurées et de grammaires de formes. Notre approche consiste à introduire une représentation sémantique de bâtiments, qui encode les contraintes architecturales attendues, et qui soit capable de traiter des exemples complexes en utilisant des grammaires très simples. En outre, nous proposons deux nouveaux algorithmes d’inférence permettant l’analyse grammaticale d’images en utilisant ces grammaires. En premier lieu, un algorithme dit de hill climbing permet d’extraire les règles de grammaire et les paramètres correspondants à partir d’une vue unique d’une façade. Ce concept combine astucieusement les contraintes grammaticales et les propriétés visuelles attendues pour les différents éléments architecturaux. Cependant, afin de pouvoir traiter de cas plus complexes et également d’incorporer de l’information 3D, une deuxième stratégie d’inférence basée sur des algorithmes évolutionnaires a été adoptée pour optimiser un fonction à deux objectifs qui introduit notamment des notions de profondeur. Le système proposé a été évalué tant qualitativement que quantitativement sur un panel de façades de référence toute munies d’annotations, démontrant ainsi sa robustesse face à des situations d’abords difficiles. Grâce à la force du contexte grammatical, des améliorations substantielles ont été démontrées par rapport aux performances des mêmes modèles couplés à des a priori uniquement locaux. Par conséquent, notre approche fournit des outils puissants permettant de faire face à la demande croissante en modélisation 3D d’environnements réels à large échelle, grâce à des représentations sémantiques compactes et structurées. Ce travail ouvre par ailleurs un vaste champ de perspectives pour le domaine de l’interprétation d’images / This thesis is devoted to 2D and 3D modeling of urban environments using structured representations and grammars. Our approach introduces a semantic representation for buildings that encodes expected architectural constraints and is able to derive complex instances using fairly simple grammars. Furthermore, we propose two novel inference algorithms to parse images using such grammars. To this end, a steepest ascent hill climbing concept is considered to derive the grammar and the corresponding parameters from a single facade view. It combines the grammar constraints with the expected visual properties of the different architectural elements. Towards addressing more complex scenarios and incorporating 3D information, a second inference strategy based on evolutionary computational algorithms is adopted to optimize a two-component objective function introducing depth cues. The proposed framework was evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively on a benchmark of annotated facades, demonstrating robustness to challenging situations. Substantial improvement due to the strong grammatical context was shown in comparison to the performance of the same appearance models coupled with local priors. Therefore, our approach provides powerful techniques in response to increasing demand on large scale 3D modeling of real environments through compact, structured and semantic representations, while opening new perspectives for image understanding

A new approach for object replacement in 3D space is presented. Introducing a technique that replaces the older two dimensional (2D) based facial replacement method performed by compositing artist in motion picture productions and video commercial industry. This method uses 4 digital video cameras filming an actor from 360 degrees, the cameras are placed with 90 degrees in between, the video footage acquired is then used to produce a 3D video texture consisting of video segments taken from different angles representing the object from 3D point of view. The video texture is then applied to a 3D modelled head matching the geometry of the original object. Offering the freedom of showing the object from any point of view from 3D space, which is not possible using the current two dimensional method where the actormust at all time face the camera. The method is described in details with images showing every stage of the process. Results are presented as still frames taken from the final video footage and as a video file demonstrating them.

The different mapping techniques that are used increases the details on surfaces without increasing the number of polygons. Image Based Sculpting tools in the program Modo and Z-Brush is used to create folds and wrinkles from photographs of actual fabrics instead of trying to create these shapes by modeling them. This method makes it easier to achieve photorealistic renderings and produce as realistic fabric dynamics as possible when they are applied on objects.

The Dynamic Positioning (DP) systems currently available employ a feedback controller based on the position and heading error, associated with a wind feed-forward control action to keep the vessel position. This last technology improves the eficiency of the DP by anticipating wind loads. However, there is no consolidated technology to feed the controller with wave loads information and the major issue is related to the wave measurement process. The present thesis aims at filling this technological gap by proposing an alternative approach for the measuring of waves near the vessel. Image-based measurement methods are noninvasive and can produce a spatial and temporal description of the surface, making them suitable for recovering the geometry of liquid surfaces. Nevertheless, these surface reconstruction methods, particularly those applying stereoscopic approaches, have dificulty in measuring waves produced in laboratory facilities, mainly because, in such conditions, the water surface is smooth, translucent and highly specular. Alternatively, intensity based image methods are capable of dealing with these surface characteristics, if employed under controlled conditions and if a suitable reflectance model is selected. In the present study, a well-known reflectance model is applied to recover the parameters of regular waves produced in an offshore basin. Firstly, an experimental setup is proposed, designed to grant appropriate conditions for the application of the reflectance model, even under conventional laboratory illumination. Later, the second set of experiments with a model scale DP vessel are presented, which applied the image-based method developed before as a wave feed-forward system. Three control methods are evaluated, namely: PID, PD (Proportional-Derivative) and the PD with the wave feed-forward. Results demonstrated that the presence of the wave feed-forward reduced the steady error of the PD controller. These are the first steps towards the practical use of the wave feed-forward, and several aspects remain pending. However, the promising results and discussions regarding the future steps define the contribution of this work. / Os sistemas atuais de Posicionamento Dinâmico (DP) empregam técnicas de controle baseadas na realimentação da posição e do aproamento, associadas à compensação antecipada das cargas de vento (wind feed-forward) para manter a posição da embarcação. Esta tecnologia melhora a experiência do DP, pois antecipa a ação do vento. Entretanto, não há tecnologia consolidada para a pré-compensação de forças ondas (wave feed-forward) e o maior desafio reside na medição desses agentes ambientais. A presente tese tem como objetivo preencher essa lacuna tecnológica propondo uma abordagem alternativa para a medição das ondas próxima ao casco. Métodos de medição baseados em imagem são não invasivos e produzem descrições espaciais e temporais da superfície analisada, tornando-os particularmente adequados à medição de superfícies líquidas. Entretanto, os métodos comumente empregados, principalmente aqueles baseados em imagens estéreo, são incapazes de medir ondas produzidas em ambiente de laboratório, pois, nestas condições, a superfície da água é lisa, apresenta transparência e comporta-se como um espelho. Por outro lado, métodos baseados na intensidade de luz são capazes de lidar com tais características, se aplicados em condições adequadas e quando empregam modelos apropriados. Neste trabalho, um modelo de reetância amplamente conhecido é empregado para extrair os parâmetros principais de ondas regulares produzidas em um tanque de provas offshore. Inicialmente, propõe-se um arranjo experimental que permita a aplicação do modelo de refetância construído, mesmo sob as condições de iluminação naturais do laboratório. Posteriormente, um segundo conjunto de experimentos com um modelo de embarcação DP é proposto, no qual se aplica o método baseado em imagem, testado anteriormente, como sistema de pré-compensação de forças de onda. Três métodos de controle são avaliados, quais sejam: PID (Proporcional-Integral-Derivativo), PD (Proporcional-Derivativo) e o PD-WFF (PD associado ao wave feed-forward). Os resultados demonstram que a presença pré-conpensação de forças de onda reduz o erro em regime do controlador PD. Estes são os primeiros passos em direção da incorporação da pré-compensação de forças de onda nos sistemas DP reais e diversos aspectos técnicos ainda estão pendentes. Entretanto, os resultados promissores e discussões acerca dos futuros passos da pesquisa definem a contribuição do presente trabalho no campo do Posicionamento Dinâmico.

nÃo hà / Ambientes providos de multidÃes sÃo empregados em diversas aplicaÃÃes, como jogos, simuladores e editores. Muitas destas aplicaÃÃes nÃo requerem somente a renderizaÃÃo de agentes animados de forma realÃstica e detalhada, mas que seja executada suavemente em tempo real, tarefa que facilmente esgota os recursos do sistema (mesmo considerando hardware no estado da arte). Por conta disso,a renderizaÃÃo de multidÃes em tempo real permanece como um desafio dentro da computaÃÃo grÃfica. Abordagens explorando nÃvel de detalhe, descarte por visibilidade e renderizaÃÃo baseada em imagens foram propostas no intuito de viabilizar esta tarefa. As duas primeiras aumentam a eficiÃncia da renderizaÃÃo, mas as vezes nÃo sÃo suficientes para manter taxas de quadros por segundo interativas. Grande parte dos estudos acerca do tema se concentra em tÃcnicas de renderizaÃÃo baseadas em imagem, especificamente com o emprego de impostores. Neste trabalho à proposto um mÃtodo que faz o balanÃo da demanda computacional da renderizaÃÃo atravÃs da variaÃÃo da distÃncia do limiar onde ocorre a troca de representaÃÃo entre os modelos de geometria completa (malhas) e os baseados em imagem (impostores) de acordo com os recursos disponÃveis. / Environments populated with crowds are employed in various applications, such as games, simulators and editors. Many of these environments require not only a realistic and detailed rendering, but it must run smoothly in real-time. This task easily exhausts the systemâs resources, even considering the current state-of-the-art hardware. Therefore, crowd rendering in real-time remains a challenge in computer graphics. Approaches exploiting levels of detail, visibility culling and image-based rendering are presented in order to facilitate this task. The first two increase the efficiency of rendering, but sometimes are not enough to keep an interactive frame rate. Some researches on this subject focus on image-based rendering techniques, specifically with the use of impostors. In this work it is proposed a method that balances the computational demand of rendering job by varying the thresholdâs distance of the representation switch between full geometry (mesh) and image-based(impostors) models in accordance with the available resources.

Ambient Occlusion är en teknik för ambient ljussättning i digitala tredimensionella scener. Sådana scener ljussätts vanligtvis med en konstant mängd ambient ljus på samtliga ytor oberoende av ytornas vinkel och position gentemot olika ljuskällor i scenen. Detta ger ett platt och kalt intryck och utan vidare ljussättningstekniker är det ytterst svårt att urskönja detaljer i scenen. Ambient Occlusion åthjälper detta genom att reducera mängden ambient ljus i vissa delar av scenen. Ambient ljus är en enkel approximation av det reflekterade diffusa ljuset som antas nå nästan överallt i scenen. Genom att sänka det ambienta ljuset på punkter i scenen med tät eller täckande geometri så ger Ambient Occlusion ett intryck av att det sekundära diffusa ljuset ej når dessa platser. Pappret undersöker en äldre variant av Ambient Occlusion där mängden ambient ljus beräknas statiskt för en scen och sparas i texturer. Vidare undersöks nyare metoder där mängden ambient ljus beräknas dynamiskt på den renderade scenen i Pixel Shaders. Det senare tillvägagångssättet kallas Image Based Ambient Occlusion eller Screen Space Ambient Occlusion. Detta nya tillvägagångssätt jämförs mot den traditionella angreppsvinkeln med förberäknade texturer. Teknikerna utvärderas och jämförs mot varandra i avseende på tids- och minneskomplexitet, enkelhet och visuellt resultat utöver specifika egenskaper för de enskilda teknikerna. Arbetets resultat beskrivs i slutet av rapporten. I resultatet presenteras hur shaderteknikerna pga sina brister inte är applicerbara i alla scener.