Magister Scientiae - MSc / Research has shown that five fundamental parameters are required to recognize any sign language gesture: hand shape, hand motion, hand location, hand orientation and facial expressions. The South African Sign Language (SASL) research group at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) has created several systems to recognize sign language gestures using single parameters. These systems are, however, limited to a vocabulary size of 20 – 23 signs, beyond which the recognition accuracy is expected to decrease. The first aim of this research is to investigate the use of two parameters – hand motion and hand shape – to recognise a larger vocabulary of SASL gestures at a high accuracy. Also, the majority of related work in the field of sign language gesture recognition using these two parameters makes use of Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) to classify gestures. Hidden Markov Support Vector Machines (HM-SVMs) are a relatively new technique that make use of Support Vector Machines (SVMs) to simulate the functions of HMMs. Research indicates that HM-SVMs may perform better than HMMs in some applications. To our knowledge, they have not been applied to the field of sign language gesture recognition. This research compares the use of these two techniques in the context of SASL gesture recognition. The results indicate that, using two parameters results in a 15% increase in accuracy over the use of a single parameter. Also, it is shown that HM-SVMs are a more accurate technique than HMMs, generally performing better or at least as good as HMMs.

A robótica móvel autônoma é uma área relativamente recente que tem como objetivo a construção de mecanismos capazes de executar tarefas sem a necessidade de um controlador humano. De uma forma geral, a robótica móvel defronta com três problemas fundamentais: mapeamento de ambientes, localização e navegação do robô. Sem esses elementos, o robô dificilmente poderia se deslocar autonomamente de um lugar para outro. Um dos problemas existentes nessa área é a atuação de robôs móveis em ambientes externos como parques e regiões urbanas, onde a complexidade do cenário é muito maior em comparação aos ambientes internos como escritórios e casas. Para exemplificar, nos ambientes externos os sensores estão sujeitos às condições climáticas (iluminação do sol, chuva e neve). Além disso, os algoritmos de navegação dos robôs nestes ambientes devem tratar uma quantidade bem maior de obstáculos (pessoas, animais e vegetações). Esta dissertação apresenta o desenvolvimento de um sistema de classificação da navegabilidade de terrenos irregulares, como por exemplo, ruas e calçadas. O mapeamento do cenário é realizado através de uma plataforma robótica equipada com um sensor laser direcionado para o solo. Foram desenvolvidos dois algoritmos para o mapeamento de terrenos. Um para a visualização dos detalhes finos do ambiente, gerando um mapa de nuvem de pontos e outro para a visualização das regiões próprias e impróprias para o tráfego do robô, resultando em um mapa de navegabilidade. No mapa de navegabilidade, são utilizados métodos de aprendizado de máquina supervisionado para classificar o terreno em navegável (regiões planas), parcialmente navegável (grama, casacalho) ou não navegável (obstáculos). Os métodos empregados foram, redes neurais artificais e máquinas de suporte vetorial. Os resultados de classificação obtidos por ambos foram posteriormente comparados para determinar a técnica mais apropriada para desempenhar esta tarefa / Autonomous mobile robotics is a recent research area that focus on the construction of mechanisms capable of executing tasks without a human control. In general, mobile robotics deals with three fundamental problems: environment mapping, robot localization and navigation. Without these elements, the robot hardly could move autonomously from a place to another. One problem of this area is the operation of the mobile robots in outdoors (e.g. parks and urban areas), which are considerably more complex than indoor environments (e.g. offices and houses). To exemplify, in outdoor environments, sensors are subjected to weather conditions (sunlight, rain and snow), besides that the navigation algorithms must process a larger quantity of obstacles (people, animals and vegetation). This dissertation presents the development of a system that classifies the navigability of irregular terrains, like streets and sidewalks. The scenario mapping has been done using a robotic platform equipped with a laser range finder sensor directed to the ground. Two terrain mapping algorithms has been devolped. One for environment fine details visualization, generating a point cloud map, and other to visualize appropriated and unappropriated places to robot navigation, resulting in a navigability map. In this map, it was used supervised learning machine methods to classify terrain portions in navigable (plane regions), partially navigable (grass, gravel) or non-navigable (obstacles). The classification methods employed were artificial neural networks and support vector machines. The classification results obtained by both were later compared to determine the most appropriated technique to execute this task

Le défi du BigData entraîne un besoin pour les algorithmes d'apprentissage automatisé de s'adapter aux données de grande dimension et de devenir plus efficace. Récemment, une nouvelle direction de recherche est apparue qui consiste à analyser les méthodes d’apprentissage dans le régime moderne où le nombre n et la dimension p des données sont grands et du même ordre. Par rapport au régime conventionnel où n>>p, le régime avec n,p sont grands et comparables est particulièrement intéressant, car les performances d’apprentissage dans ce régime restent sensibles à l’ajustement des hyperparamètres, ouvrant ainsi une voie à la compréhension et à l’amélioration des techniques d’apprentissage pour ces données de grande dimension.L'approche technique de cette thèse s'appuie sur des outils avancés de statistiques de grande dimension, nous permettant de mener des analyses allant au-delà de l'état de l’art. La première partie de la thèse est consacrée à l'étude de l'apprentissage semi-supervisé sur des grandes données. Motivés par nos résultats théoriques, nous proposons une alternative supérieure à la méthode semi-supervisée de régularisation laplacienne. Les méthodes avec solutions implicites, comme les SVMs et la régression logistique, sont ensuite étudiées sous des modèles de mélanges réalistes, fournissant des détails exhaustifs sur le mécanisme d'apprentissage. Plusieurs conséquences importantes sont ainsi révélées, dont certaines sont même en contradiction avec la croyance commune. / The BigData challenge induces a need for machine learning algorithms to evolve towards large dimensional and more efficient learning engines. Recently, a new direction of research has emerged that consists in analyzing learning methods in the modern regime where the number n and the dimension p of data samples are commensurately large. Compared to the conventional regime where n>>p, the regime with large and comparable n,p is particularly interesting as the learning performance in this regime remains sensitive to the tuning of hyperparameters, thus opening a path into the understanding and improvement of learning techniques for large dimensional datasets.The technical approach employed in this thesis draws on several advanced tools of high dimensional statistics, allowing us to conduct more elaborate analyses beyond the state of the art. The first part of this dissertation is devoted to the study of semi-supervised learning on high dimensional data. Motivated by our theoretical findings, we propose a superior alternative to the standard semi-supervised method of Laplacian regularization. The methods involving implicit optimizations, such as SVMs and logistic regression, are next investigated under realistic mixture models, providing exhaustive details on the learning mechanism. Several important consequences are thus revealed, some of which are even in contradiction with common belief.

This thesis deals with methods for the detection of people and tracking objects in video sequences. An application for detection and tracking of players in video recordings of sport activities, e.g. hockey or basketball matches, is proposed and implemented. The designed application uses the combination of histograms of oriented gradients and classification based on SVM (Support Vector Machines) for detecting players in the picture. Moreover, a particle filter is used for tracking detected players. The whole system was fully tested and the results are shown in the graphs and tables with verbal descriptions.

The thesis deals with the classification of the retinal blood vessels in retinal image data. The first part of the thesis deals with the anatomy of the human eye and focuses on the description of the retina and its blood circulation. It further describes the principle of fundus camera and experimental video ophthalmoscope. The second part of the thesis is devoted to a literature search of academic publications that deal with the classification of the retinal vessels into arteries and veins. Subsequently, the principle of selected machine learning methods is presented. Based on the literature research, two methods for the classification of the blood vessels were proposed, the first one using the SVM classifier and the second one using the convolutional neural network U-Net. At the end, the analysis of vascular pulsations was performed. The practical part of the thesis was carried out in Matlab programming interface and images from the RITE, IOSTAR and AFIO database were used for classification and the retinal video sequences taken with an experimental video ophthalmoscope were processed in the analysis of pulsations.

My thesis is dealing with the Learnable Evolution Model (LEM), a new evolutionary method of optimization, which employs a classification algorithm. The optimization process is guided by a characteristics of differences between groups of high and low performance solutions in the population. In this thesis I introduce new variants of LEM using classification algorithm AdaBoost or SVM. The qualities of proposed LEM variants were validated in a series of experiments in static and dynamic enviroment. The results have shown that the metod has better results with smaller group sizes. When compared to the Estimation of Distribution Algorithm, the LEM variants achieve comparable or better values faster. However, the LEM variant which combined the AdaBoost approach with the SVM approach had the best overall performance.

Klasická inkoustová razítka, která se používají k autorizaci dokumentů, se dnes díky rozšíření moderních technologií dají relativně snadno padělat metodou oskenování a vytištění. V rámci diplomové práce je vyvíjen automatický nástroj pro ověření pravosti razítek, který najde využití zejména v prostředích, kde je nutné zpracovávat velké množství dokumentů. Procesu ověření pravosti razítka musí přirozeně předcházet jeho detekce v dokumentu - úloha zpracování obrazu, která zatím nemá přesvědčivé řešení. V této diplomové práci je navržena zcela nová metoda detekce a ověření pravosti razítka v barevných obrazech dokumentů. Tato metoda zahrnuje plnou segmentaci stránky za účelem určení kandidátních řešení, dále extrakci příznaků a následnou klasifikaci kandidátů za pomoci algoritmu podpůrných vektorů (SVM). Evaluace ukázala, že algoritmus umožňuje rozlišovat razítka od jiných barevných objektů v dokumentu jako jsou například loga a barevné nápisy. Kromě toho algoritmus dokáže rozlišit pravá razítka od kopií.

This thesis deals with use of regression or classification based on support vector machines from machine learning field. SVMs predict values that are used for decisions of automatic trading system. Regression and classification are evaluated for their usability for decision making. Strategy is being then optimized, tested and evaluated on foreign exchange market Forex historic data set. Results are promising. Strategy could be used in combination with other strategy that would confirm decisions for entering and exiting trades.

Aktinomyzeten sind ein Teil der residenten Flora des menschlichen Verdauungstraktes, des Urogenitalsystems und der Haut. Die zeitraubende Isolation und Identifikation der Aktinomyzeten durch konventionelle Methoden stellt sich häufig als sehr schwierig dar. In den letzten Jahren hat sich jedoch die Matrix-unterstützte Laser-Desorption/Ionisation-Flugzeit-Massenspektrometrie (MALDI-TOF-MS) als Alternative zu etablierten Verfahren entwickelt und stellt heutzutage eine schnelle und simple Methode zur Bakterienidentifikation dar. Unsere Studie untersucht den Nutzen dieser Methode für eine schnelle und zuverlässige Identifizierung von oralen Aktinomyzeten, die aus dem subgingivalen Biofilm parodontal erkrankter Patienten isoliert wurden. In dieser Studie wurden elf verschiedene Referenzstämme aus den Stammsammlungen ATCC und DSMZ und 674 klinische Stämme untersucht. Alle Stämme wurden durch biochemische Methoden vorab identifiziert und anschließend ausgehend von den erhobenen MALDI-TOF-MS-Daten durch Ähnlichkeitsanalysen und Klassifikationsmethoden identifiziert und klassifiziert. Der Genotyp der Referenzstämme und von 232 klinischen Stämmen wurde durch Sequenzierung der 16S rDNA bestimmt. Die Sequenzierung bestätigte die Identifizierung der Referenzstämme. Diese und die zweifelsfrei durch 16S rDNA Sequenzierung identifizierten Aktinomyzeten wurden verwendet, um eine MALDI-TOF-MS-Datenbank zu erstellen. Methoden der Klassifikation wurden angewandt, um eine Differenzierung und Identifikation zu ermöglichen. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass eine Kombination aus Datenerhebung mittels MALDI-TOF-MS und deren Verarbeitung mittels SVM-Algorithmen eine gute Möglichkeit für die Identifikation und Differenzierung von oralen Aktinomyzeten darstellt.

Smarte Prüfsysteme werden ein Schlüsselbaustein zur Qualitätssicherung in der industriellen Fertigung und Produktion sein. Insbesondere trifft dies auf komplexe Prüf- und Bewertungsprozesse zu. In den letzten Jahren haben sich hierfür lernbasierte Verfahren als besonders vielversprechend herauskristallisiert. Ihr Einsatz geht in der Regel mit erheblichen Performanceverbesserungen gegenüber konventionellen, regel- bzw. geometriebasierten Methoden einher. Der Black-Box-Charakter dieser Algorithmen führt jedoch dazu, dass die Interpretationen der berechneten Prognosegüten kritisch zu hinterfragen sind. Das Vertrauen in die Ergebnisse von Algorithmen, die auf maschinellem Lernen basieren, kann erhöht werden, wenn verschiedene, voneinander unabhängige Verfahren zum Einsatz kommen. Hierbei sind Datenfusionsstrategien anzuwenden, um die Resultate der verschiedenen Methoden zu einem Endergebnis zusammenzufassen. Im Konferenzbeitrag werden, aufbauend auf einer kurzen Vorstellung wichtiger Ansätze zur Objektklassifikation, entsprechende Fusionsstrategien präsentiert und an einem Fallbeispiel evaluiert. Im Anschluss wird auf Basis der Ergebnisse das Potential der Datenfusion in Bezug auf das Maschinelle Lernen erörtert.