We propose a novel method for iterative learning of point correspondences between image sequences. Points moving on surfaces in 3D space are projected into two images. Given a point in either view, the considered problem is to determine the corresponding location in the other view. The geometry and distortions of the projections are unknown as is the shape of the surface. Given several pairs of point-sets but no access to the 3D scene, correspondence mappings can be found by excessive global optimization or by the fundamental matrix if a perspective projective model is assumed. However, an iterative solution on sequences of point-set pairs with general imaging geometry is preferable. We derive such a method that optimizes the mapping based on Neyman's chi-square divergence between the densities representing the uncertainties of the estimated and the actual locations. The densities are represented as channel vectors computed with a basis function approach. The mapping between these vectors is updated with each new pair of images such that fast convergence and high accuracy are achieved. The resulting algorithm runs in real-time and is superior to state-of-the-art methods in terms of convergence and accuracy in a number of experiments.

This paper presents a method that combines shadow detection and a 3D box model including shadow simulation, for estimation of size and position of vehicles. We define a similarity measure between a simulated image of a 3D box, including the box shadow, and a captured image that is classified into background/foreground/shadow. The similarity Measure is used in all optimization procedure to find the optimal box state. It is shown in a number of experiments and examples how the combination shadow detection/simulation improves the estimation compared to just using detection or simulation, especially when the shadow detection or the simulation is inaccurate. We also describe a tracking system that utilizes the estimated 3D boxes, including highlight detection, spatial window instead of a time based window for predicting heading, and refined box size estimates by weighting accumulated estimates depending oil view. Finally, we show example results.

This paper describes a method for vision-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) motion estimation from multiple planar homographies. The paper also describes the determination of the relative displacement between different UAVs employing techniques for blob feature extraction and matching. It then presents and shows experimental results of the application of the proposed technique to multi-UAV detection of forest fires.  

In this paper, we discuss certain issues regarding robot vision. The main theme will be the importance of the choice of information representation. We will see the implications at different parts of a robot vision structure. We deal with aspects of pre-attentive versus attentive vision, control mechanisms for low level focus of attention, and representation of motion as the orientation of hyperplanes in multdimensional time-space. Issues of scale will be touched upon, and finally, a depth-from stereo algorithm based on guadrature filter phase is presented.

This Chapter is devoted to the cooperation of multiple UAVs for environment perception. First, probabilistic methods for multi-UAV cooperative perception are analyzed. Then, the problem of multi-UAV detection, localization and tracking is described, and local image processing techniques are presented. Then, the Chapter shows two approaches based on the Information Filter and on evidence grid representations.

This chapter introduces the use of tensors in estimation of local structure and orientation. The tensor representation is shown to be crucial to unambiguous and continuous representation of local orientation in multiple dimensions. In addition to orientation the tensor representation also conveys the degree and type of local anisotropy. The orientation estimation approach is developed in detail for two, three and four dimensions and is shown to be extendable to higher dimensions. Examples and performance measures are given for processing of images, volumes and time sequences.

The problem of estimating depth information from two or more images of a scene is one which has received considerable attention over the years and a wide variety of methods have been proposed to solve it [Barnard and Fichsler, 1982; Fleck, 1991]. Methods based on correlation and methods using some form of feature matching between the images have found most widespread use. Of these, the latter have attracted increasing attention since the work of Marr [Marr, 1982], in which the features are zero-crossings on varying scales. These methods share an underlying basis of spatial domain operations.

In recent years, however, increasing interest has been shown in computational models of vision based primarily on a localized frequency domain representation - the Gabor representation [Gabor, 1946; Adelson and Bergen, 1985], first suggested in the context of computer vision by Granlund [Granlund, 1978].

Convolution kernels are a commonly used tool in computer vision. These kernels are often specified by an ideal frequency response and the actual filter coefficients are obtained by minimizing some weighted distance with respect to the ideal filter. State-of-the-art approaches usually replace the continuous frequency response by a discrete Fourier spectrum with a multitude of samples compared to the kernel size, depending on the smoothness of the ideal filter and the weight function. The number of samples in the Fourier domain grows exponentially with the dimensionality and becomes a bottleneck concerning memory requirements.

In this paper we propose a method that avoids the discretization of the frequency space and makes filter optimization feasible in higher dimensions than the standard approach. The result is no longer depending on the choice of the sampling grid and it remains exact even if the weighting function is singular in the origin. The resulting improper integrals are efficiently computed using Gauss-Jacobi quadrature.

Tensor valued data are frequently used in medical imaging. For a 3-dimensional second order tensor such data imply at least six degrees of freedom for each voxel. The operators ability to perceive this information is of outmost importance and in many cases a limiting factor for the interpretation of the data. In this paper we propose a decomposition of such tensor fields using the Tflash tensor glyphs that intuitively conveys important tensor features to a human observer. A matlab implementation for visualization of single tensors are described in detail and a VTK/ITK implementation for visualization of tensor fields have been developed as a Medical Studio component.

This paper explores the possibility to use a single low-resolution FIR camera for detection of pedestrians in the near zone in front of a vehicle. A low resolution sensor reduces the cost of the system, as well as the amount of data that needs to be processed in each frame.

We present a system that makes use of hot-spots and image positions of a near constant bearing to detect potential pedestrians. These detections provide seeds for an energy minimization algorithm that fits a pedestrian model to the detection. Since false alarms are hard to tolerate, the pedestrian model is then tracked, and the distance-to-collision (DTC) is measured by integrating size change measurements at sub-pixel accuracy, and the car velocity. The system should only engage braking for detections on a collision course, with a reliably measured DTC.

Preliminary experiments on a number of recorded near collision sequences indicate that our method may be useful for ranges up to about 10m using an 80x60 sensor, and somewhat more using a 160x120 sensor. We also analyze the robustness of the evaluated algorithm with respect to dead pixels, a potential problem for low-resolution sensors.

This paper presents the new project Efficient Convolution Operators for Image Processing of Volumes and Volume Sequences . The project is carried out in collaboration with Context Vision AB.

By using sequential filtering on 3D and 4D data, the number of nonzero filter coefficients for a desired filter set can be significantly reduced. A sequential convolution structure in combination with a convolver designed for sparse filters is a powerful tool for filtering of multidimensional signals.

The project mainly concerns the design of filter networks, that approximate a desired filter set, while keeping the computational load as low as possible. This is clearly an optimization problem, but it can be formulated in several different ways due to the complexity.

The project is in an initial state and the paper focuses on experiences from prior work and discuss possible approaches for the future progress.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a broad overview of the WITAS Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Project. The WITAS UAV project is an ambitious, long-term basic research project with the goal of developing technologies and functionalities necessary for the successful deployment of a fully autonomous UAV operating over diverse geographical terrain containing road and traffic networks. Theproject is multi-disciplinary in nature, requiring many different research competences, and covering a broad spectrum of basic research issues, many of which relate to current topics in artificial intelligence. A number of topics considered are knowledge representation issues, active vision systems and their integration with deliberative/reactive architectures, helicopter modeling and control, ground operator dialogue systems, actual physical platforms, and a number of simulation techniques.

The WITAS Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Project is a long term basic research project located at Linköping University (LIU), Sweden. The project is multi-disciplinary in nature and involves cooperation with different departments at LIU, and a number of other universities in Europe, the USA, and South America. In addition to academic cooperation, the project involves collaboration with a number of private companies supplying products and expertise related to simulation tools and models, and the hardware and sensory platforms used for actual flight experimentation with the UAV. Currently, the project is in its second phase with an intended duration from 2000-2003.

This paper will begin with a brief overview of the project, but will focus primarily on the computer vision related issues associated with interpreting the operational environment which consists of traffic and road networks and vehicular patterns associated with these networks.

This paper presents a general approach for obtaining optimal filters as well as filter sequences. A filter is termed optimal when it minimizes a chosen distance measure with respect to an ideal filter. The method allows specification of the metric via simultaneous weighting functions in multiple domains, e.g. the spatio-temporal space and the Fourier space. It is shown how convolution kernels for efficient spatio-temporal filtering can be implemented in practical situations. The method is based on applying a set of jointly optimized filter kernels in sequence. The optimization of sequential filters is performed using a novel recursive optimization technique. A number of optimization examples are given that demonstrate the role of key parameters such as: number of kernel coefficients, number of filters in sequence, spatio-temporal and Fourier space metrics. In multidimensional filtering applications the method potentially outperforms both standard convolution and FFT based approaches by two-digit numbers.

WITAS will be engaged in goal-directed basic research in the area of intelligent autonomous vehicles and other autonomous systems. In this paper an overview of the project is given together with a presentation of our research interests in the project. The current status of our part in the project is also given.

A methodology for spatio-temporal filtering of image sequences is under development at Computer Vision Laboratory, Linköping University. In later years scale analysis has been found to be a necessary tool in image analysis of stationary images. It is our belief that a combination of spatio-temporal filtering and scale analysis is required to get satisfactory results on image sequences. A growing need and the availability of more powerful computers are the most important reasons for this development. The objectives and proposed methods are discussed in relation to known properties of mammal vision.

There are a number of different algorithms for object motion estimation in image sequences. Almost every algorithm is based on one of three different mathematical methods. An overview of these methods is given, together with some published application examples on object tracking.

A method for tracking of multiple moving objects has been developed on a GOP 300 image processing system. This method works on image sequences with a stationary background, and can be divided into the following steps:

1. Find the positions for all objects that have moved.
2. Predict the new positions for all known objects.
3. Match these two sets of points.
4. Produce the required output.

These steps are repeated for every sample of the sequence. As an output from every processed sample in a test sequence, both a resulting image and a record in a datafile have been generated. The resulting image is a copy of the actual sample with the active object identities overlayed at the corresponding positions. The resulting images have been stored on a video tape.

One major goal of the COSPAL project is to develop an artificial cognitive system architecture with the capability of exploratory learning. Exploratory learning is a strategy that allows to apply generalization on a conceptual level, resulting in an extension of competences. Whereas classical learning methods aim at best possible generalization, i.e., concluding from a number of samples of a problem class to the problem class itself, exploration aims at applying acquired competences to a new problem class. Incremental or online learning is an inherent requirement to perform exploratory learning.

Exploratory learning requires new theoretic tools and new algorithms. In the COSPAL project, we mainly investigate reinforcement-type learning methods for exploratory learning and in this paper we focus on its algorithmic aspect. Learning is performed in terms of four nested loops, where the outermost loop reflects the user-reinforcement-feedback loop, the intermediate two loops switch between different solution modes at symbolic respectively sub-symbolic level, and the innermost loop performs the acquired competences in terms of perception-action cycles. We present a system diagram which explains this process in more detail.

We discuss the learning strategy in terms of learning scenarios provided by the user. This interaction between user (’teacher’) and system is a major difference to most existing systems where the system designer places his world model into the system. We believe that this is the key to extendable robust system behavior and successful interaction of humans and artificial cognitive systems.

We furthermore address the issue of bootstrapping the system, and, in particular, the visual recognition module.We give some more in-depth details about our recognition method and how feedback from higher levels is implemented. The described system is however work in progress and no final results are available yet. The available preliminary results that we have achieved so far, clearly point towards a successful proof of the architecture concept.

A recursive method to condense general multidimensional FIR-filters into a sequence of simple kernels with mainly one dimensional extent has been worked out. Convolver networks adopted for 2, 3 and 4D signals is presented and the performance is illustrated for spherically separable quadrature filters. The resulting filter responses are mapped to a non biased tensor representation where the local tensor constitutes a robust estimate of both the shape and the orientation (velocity) of the neighbourhood. A qualitative evaluation of this General Sequential Filter concept results in no detectable loss in accuracy when compared to conventional FIR (Finite Impulse Response) filters but the computational complexity is reduced several orders in magnitude. For the examples presented in this paper the attained speed-up is 5, 25 and 300 times for 2D, 3D and 4D data respectively The magnitude of the attained speed-up implies that complex spatio-temporal analysis can be performed using standard hardware, such as a powerful workstation, in close to real time. Due to the soft implementation of the convolver and the tree structure of the sequential filtering approach the processing is simple to reconfigure for the outer as well as the inner (vector length) dimensionality of the signal. The implementation was made in AVS (Application Visualization System) using modules written in C.