Search results for: visual preference.
125 Outdoor Anomaly Detection with a Spectroscopic Line Detector
Authors: O. J. G. Somsen
Abstract:
One of the tasks of optical surveillance is to detect anomalies in large amounts of image data. However, if the size of the anomaly is very small, limited information is available to distinguish it from the surrounding environment. Spectral detection provides a useful source of additional information and may help to detect anomalies with a size of a few pixels or less. Unfortunately, spectral cameras are expensive because of the difficulty of separating two spatial in addition to one spectral dimension. We investigate the possibility of modifying a simple spectral line detector for outdoor detection. This may be especially useful if the area of interest forms a line, such as the horizon. We use a monochrome CCD that also enables detection into the near infrared. A simple camera is attached to the setup to determine which part of the environment is spectrally imaged. Our preliminary results indicate that sensitive detection of very small targets is indeed possible. Spectra could be taken from the various targets by averaging columns in the line image. By imaging a set of lines of various widths we found narrow lines that could not be seen in the color image but remained visible in the spectral line image. A simultaneous analysis of the entire spectra can produce better results than visual inspection of the line spectral image. We are presently developing calibration targets for spatial and spectral focusing and alignment with the spatial camera. This will present improved results and more use in outdoor application.Keywords: Anomaly detection, spectroscopic line imaging, image analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1645124 Attribute Based Comparison and Selection of Modular Self-Reconfigurable Robot Using Multiple Attribute Decision Making Approach
Authors: Manpreet Singh, V. P. Agrawal, Gurmanjot Singh Bhatti
Abstract:
From the last decades, there is a significant technological advancement in the field of robotics, and a number of modular self-reconfigurable robots were introduced that can help in space exploration, bucket to stuff, search, and rescue operation during earthquake, etc. As there are numbers of self-reconfigurable robots, choosing the optimum one is always a concern for robot user since there is an increase in available features, facilities, complexity, etc. The objective of this research work is to present a multiple attribute decision making based methodology for coding, evaluation, comparison ranking and selection of modular self-reconfigurable robots using a technique for order preferences by similarity to ideal solution approach. However, 86 attributes that affect the structure and performance are identified. A database for modular self-reconfigurable robot on the basis of different pertinent attribute is generated. This database is very useful for the user, for selecting a robot that suits their operational needs. Two visual methods namely linear graph and spider chart are proposed for ranking of modular self-reconfigurable robots. Using five robots (Atron, Smores, Polybot, M-Tran 3, Superbot), an example is illustrated, and raking of the robots is successfully done, which shows that Smores is the best robot for the operational need illustrated, and this methodology is found to be very effective and simple to use.
Keywords: Self-reconfigurable robots, MADM, TOPSIS, morphogenesis, scalability.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 888123 Kinematic Analysis and Software Development of a Seven Degree of Freedom Inspection Robot
Authors: G. Shanmugasundar, R. Sivaramakrishnan, S. Venugopal
Abstract:
Robots are booming as an essential substituent in the field of inspection. In hazardous environments like nuclear waste disposal, robots are really a necessitate one. In a view to meet such demands, this paper presents the seven degree of freedom articulated inspection robot. To design such a robot the kinematic analysis of seven Degree of freedom robot which can inspect the hazardous nuclear waste storage tanks is done. The effective utilization of universal joints for arms and screw jack mechanisms at the base gives the higher order of degree of freedom to the newly designed robot. The analytical method of deriving the manipulator forward as well as inverse kinematics is explained elaborately using the Denavit-Hartenberg Approach for the purpose of calculating the robot joints, links and end-effector parameters. The comparison of the geometric and the analytical approach is stated. The self-developed kinematic model gives the accurate positions of the end effector. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) is developed in Visual Basic language for the manipulation of kinematic results easily. This software gives the expected position of the end-effector accurately at short time compared to manual manipulations.
Keywords: Robot kinematics, screw jack mechanisms, Denavit-Hartenberg approach, universal joints.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2913122 Online Pose Estimation and Tracking Approach with Siamese Region Proposal Network
Authors: Cheng Fang, Lingwei Quan, Cunyue Lu
Abstract:
Human pose estimation and tracking are to accurately identify and locate the positions of human joints in the video. It is a computer vision task which is of great significance for human motion recognition, behavior understanding and scene analysis. There has been remarkable progress on human pose estimation in recent years. However, more researches are needed for human pose tracking especially for online tracking. In this paper, a framework, called PoseSRPN, is proposed for online single-person pose estimation and tracking. We use Siamese network attaching a pose estimation branch to incorporate Single-person Pose Tracking (SPT) and Visual Object Tracking (VOT) into one framework. The pose estimation branch has a simple network structure that replaces the complex upsampling and convolution network structure with deconvolution. By augmenting the loss of fully convolutional Siamese network with the pose estimation task, pose estimation and tracking can be trained in one stage. Once trained, PoseSRPN only relies on a single bounding box initialization and producing human joints location. The experimental results show that while maintaining the good accuracy of pose estimation on COCO and PoseTrack datasets, the proposed method achieves a speed of 59 frame/s, which is superior to other pose tracking frameworks.Keywords: Computer vision, Siamese network, pose estimation, pose tracking.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1163121 Low Light Image Enhancement with Multi-Stage Interconnected Autoencoders Integration in Pix-to-Pix GAN
Authors: Muhammad Atif, Cang Yan
Abstract:
The enhancement of low-light images is a significant area of study aimed at enhancing the quality of captured images in challenging lighting environments. Recently, methods based on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) have gained prominence as they offer state-of-the-art performance. However, many approaches based on CNN rely on increasing the size and complexity of the neural network. In this study, we propose an alternative method for improving low-light images using an Autoencoders-based multiscale knowledge transfer model. Our method leverages the power of three autoencoders, where the encoders of the first two autoencoders are directly connected to the decoder of the third autoencoder. Additionally, the decoder of the first two autoencoders is connected to the encoder of the third autoencoder. This architecture enables effective knowledge transfer, allowing the third autoencoder to learn and benefit from the enhanced knowledge extracted by the first two autoencoders. We further integrate the proposed model into the Pix-to-Pix GAN framework. By integrating our proposed model as the generator in the GAN framework, we aim to produce enhanced images that not only exhibit improved visual quality but also possess a more authentic and realistic appearance. These experimental results, both qualitative and quantitative, show that our method is better than the state-of-the-art methodologies.
Keywords: Low light image enhancement, deep learning, convolutional neural network, image processing.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27120 Flood Predicting in Karkheh River Basin Using Stochastic ARIMA Model
Authors: Karim Hamidi Machekposhti, Hossein Sedghi, Abdolrasoul Telvari, Hossein Babazadeh
Abstract:
Floods have huge environmental and economic impact. Therefore, flood prediction is given a lot of attention due to its importance. This study analysed the annual maximum streamflow (discharge) (AMS or AMD) of Karkheh River in Karkheh River Basin for flood predicting using ARIMA model. For this purpose, we use the Box-Jenkins approach, which contains four-stage method model identification, parameter estimation, diagnostic checking and forecasting (predicting). The main tool used in ARIMA modelling was the SAS and SPSS software. Model identification was done by visual inspection on the ACF and PACF. SAS software computed the model parameters using the ML, CLS and ULS methods. The diagnostic checking tests, AIC criterion, RACF graph and RPACF graphs, were used for selected model verification. In this study, the best ARIMA models for Annual Maximum Discharge (AMD) time series was (4,1,1) with their AIC value of 88.87. The RACF and RPACF showed residuals’ independence. To forecast AMD for 10 future years, this model showed the ability of the model to predict floods of the river under study in the Karkheh River Basin. Model accuracy was checked by comparing the predicted and observation series by using coefficient of determination (R2).
Keywords: Time series modelling, stochastic processes, ARIMA model, Karkheh River.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1038119 Reconsidering the Palaeo-Environmental Reconstruction of the Wet Zone of Sri Lanka: A Zooarchaeological Perspective
Authors: Kalangi Rodrigo, Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi
Abstract:
Bones, teeth, and shells have been acknowledged over the last two centuries as evidence of chronology, Palaeo-environment, and human activity. Faunal traces are valid evidence of past situations because they have properties that have not changed over long periods. Sri Lanka has been known as an Island, which has a diverse variety of prehistoric occupation among ecological zones. Defining the Paleoecology of the past societies has been an archaeological thought developed in the 1960s. It is mainly concerned with the reconstruction from available geological and biological evidence of past biota, populations, communities, landscapes, environments, and ecosystems. This early and persistent human fossil, technical, and cultural florescence, as well as a collection of well-preserved tropical-forest rock shelters with associated 'on-site ' Palaeoenvironmental records, makes Sri Lanka a central and unusual case study to determine the extent and strength of early human tropical forest encounters. Excavations carried out in prehistoric caves in the low country wet zone has shown that in the last 50,000 years, the temperature in the lowland rainforests has not exceeded 5 degrees. Based on Semnopithecus Priam (Gray Langur) remains unearthed from wet zone prehistoric caves, it has been argued periods of momentous climate changes during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and Terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene boundary, with a recognizable preference for semi-open ‘Intermediate’ rainforest or edges. Continuous genus Acavus and Oligospira occupation along with uninterrupted horizontal pervasive of Canarium sp. (‘kekuna’ nut) have proven that temperatures in the lowland rain forests have not changed by at least 5 °C over the last 50,000 years. Site catchment or territorial analysis cannot be any longer defensible, due to time-distance based factors as well as optimal foraging theory failed as a consequence of prehistoric people were aware of the decrease in cost-benefit ratio and located sites, and generally played out a settlement strategy that minimized the ratio of energy expended to energy produced.Keywords: Palaeo-environment, palaeo-ecology, palaeo-climate, prehistory, zooarchaeology.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 733118 Optimization of Double Wishbone Suspension System with Variable Camber Angle by Hydraulic Mechanism
Authors: Mohammad Iman Mokhlespour Esfahani, Masoud Mosayebi, Mohammad Pourshams, Ahmad Keshavarzi
Abstract:
Simulation accuracy by recent dynamic vehicle simulation multidimensional expression significantly has progressed and acceptable results not only for passive vehicles but also for active vehicles normally equipped with advanced electronic components is also provided. Recently, one of the subjects that has it been considered, is increasing the safety car in design. Therefore, many efforts have been done to increase vehicle stability especially in the turn. One of the most important efforts is adjusting the camber angle in the car suspension system. Optimum control camber angle in addition to the vehicle stability is effective in the wheel adhesion on road, reducing rubber abrasion and acceleration and braking. Since the increase or decrease in the camber angle impacts on the stability of vehicles, in this paper, a car suspension system mechanism is introduced that could be adjust camber angle and the mechanism is application and also inexpensive. In order to reach this purpose, in this paper, a passive double wishbone suspension system with variable camber angle is introduced and then variable camber mechanism designed and analyzed for study the designed system performance, this mechanism is modeled in Visual Nastran software and kinematic analysis is revealed.Keywords: Suspension molding, double wishbone, variablecamber, hydraulic mechanism
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7723117 A Theoretical Analysis for Modeling and Prediction of the Jet Engine Emissions
Authors: Jamal S. Yassin
Abstract:
This paper is to formulate a mathematical model to predict the amounts of the emissions produced from the combustion process of the gas turbine unit of the jet engine. These emissions have bad impacts on the environment if they are out of standards, which cause real threats to all type of life on the earth. The amounts of the emissions from the gas turbine engine are functions to many operational and design factors. In landing-takeoff (LTO) these amounts are not the same as in taxi or cruise of the plane using jet engines, because of the difference in the activity period during these operating modes. These emissions can be affected by several physical and chemical variables, such as fuel type, fuel to air ratio or equivalence ratio, flame temperature, combustion pressure, in addition to some inlet conditions such as ambient temperature and air humidity. To study the influence of these variables on the amounts of these emissions during the combustion process in the gas turbine unit, a computer program has been developed by using the visual basic 6 software. Here, the analysis of the combustion process is carried out by considering it as a chemical reaction with shifting equilibrium to find the products of the combustion of the octane fuel, at different equivalence ratios, compressor pressure ratios (CPR) and combustion temperatures. The results obtained have shown that there is noticeable influence of the equivalence ratio, CPR, and the combustion temperature on the amounts of the main emissions which are considered pollutants, such as CO, CO2 and NO.
Keywords: Mathematical model, gas turbine unit, equivalence ratio, emissions, shifting equilibrium.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 735116 A Holographic Infotainment System for Connected and Driverless Cars: An Exploratory Study of Gesture Based Interaction
Authors: Nicholas Lambert, Seungyeon Ryu, Mehmet Mulla, Albert Kim
Abstract:
In this paper, an interactive in-car interface called HoloDash is presented. It is intended to provide information and infotainment in both autonomous vehicles and ‘connected cars’, vehicles equipped with Internet access via cellular services. The research focuses on the development of interactive avatars for this system and its gesture-based control system. This is a case study for the development of a possible human-centred means of presenting a connected or autonomous vehicle’s On-Board Diagnostics through a projected ‘holographic’ infotainment system. This system is termed a Holographic Human Vehicle Interface (HHIV), as it utilises a dashboard projection unit and gesture detection. The research also examines the suitability for gestures in an automotive environment, given that it might be used in both driver-controlled and driverless vehicles. Using Human Centred Design methods, questions were posed to test subjects and preferences discovered in terms of the gesture interface and the user experience for passengers within the vehicle. These affirm the benefits of this mode of visual communication for both connected and driverless cars.
Keywords: Holographic interface, human-computer interaction, user-centered design, Gesture.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1065115 Metallurgical Analysis of Surface Defect in Telescopic Front Fork
Authors: Souvik Das, Janak Lal, Arthita Dey, Goutam Mukhopadhyay, Sandip Bhattacharya
Abstract:
Telescopic Front Fork (TFF) used in two wheelers, mainly motorcycle, is made from high strength steel, and is manufactured by high frequency induction welding process wherein hot rolled and pickled coils are used as input raw material for rolling of hollow tubes followed by heat treatment, surface treatment, cold drawing, tempering, etc. The final application demands superior quality TFF tubes w.r.t. surface finish and dimensional tolerances. This paper presents the investigation of two different types of failure of fork during operation. The investigation consists of visual inspection, chemical analysis, characterization of microstructure, and energy dispersive spectroscopy. In this paper, comprehensive investigations of two failed tube samples were investigated. In case of Sample #1, the result revealed that there was a pre-existing crack, known as hook crack, which leads to the cracking of the tube. Metallographic examination exhibited that during field operation the pre-existing hook crack was surfaced out leading to crack in the pipe. In case of Sample #2, presence of internal oxidation with decarburised grains inside the material indicates origin of the defect from slab stage.
Keywords: Telescopic front fork, induction welding, hook crack, internal oxidation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 824114 Effects of Increased Green Surface on a Densely Built Urban Fabric: The Case of Budapest
Authors: Viktória Sugár, Orsolya Frick, Gabriella Horváth, A. Bendegúz Vöröss, Péter Leczovics, Géza Baráth
Abstract:
Urban greenery has multiple positive effects both on the city and its residents. Apart from the visual advantages, it changes the micro-climate by cooling and shading, also increasing vapor and oxygen, reducing dust and carbon-dioxide content at the same time. The above are all critical factors of livability of an urban fabric. Unfortunately, in a dense, historical district there are restricted possibilities to build green surfaces. The present study collects and systemizes the applicable green solutions in the case of a historical downtown district of Budapest. The study contains a GIS-based measurement of the eligible surfaces for greenery, and also calculates the potential of oxygen production, carbon-dioxide reduction and cooling effect of an increased green surface. It can be concluded that increasing the green surface has measurable effects on a densely built urban fabric, including air quality, micro-climate and other environmental factors.
Keywords: Urban greenery, green roof, green wall, green surface potential, sustainable city, oxygen production, carbon-dioxide reduction, geographical information system, GIS.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 923113 A Study on Explicitation Strategies Employed in Persian Subtitling of English Crime Movies
Authors: Hossein Heidari Tabrizi, Azizeh Chalak, Hossein Enayat
Abstract:
The present study seeks to investigate the application of expansion strategy in Persian subtitles of English crime movies. More precisely, this study aims at classifying the different types of expansion used in subtitles as well as investigating the appropriateness or inappropriateness of the application of each type. To achieve this end, three movies; namely, The Net (1995), Contact (1997) and Mission Impossible 2 (2000), available with Persian subtitles, were selected for the study. To collect the data, the above mentioned movies were watched and those parts of the Persian subtitles in which expansion had been used were identified and extracted along with their English dialogs. Then, the extracted Persian subtitles were classified based on the reason that led to expansion in each case. Next, the appropriateness or inappropriateness of using expansion in the extracted Persian subtitles was descriptively investigated. Finally, an equivalent not containing any expansion was proposed for those cases in which the meaning could be fully transferred without this strategy. The findings of the study indicated that the reasons range from explicitation (explicitation of visual, co-textual and contextual information), mistranslation and paraphrasing to the preferences of subtitlers. Furthermore, it was found that the employment of expansion strategy was inappropriate in all cases except for those caused by explicitation of contextual information since correct and shorter equivalents which were equally capable of conveying the intended meaning could be posited for the original dialogs.Keywords: Audiovisual translation, English crime movies, expansion strategies, Persian subtitles.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2247112 Assessment of Tourist and Community Perception with Regard to Tourism Sustainability Indicators: A Case Study of Sinharaja World Heritage Rainforest, Sri Lanka
Authors: L. P. K. Liyanage, N. R. P. Withana, A. L. Sandika
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to determine tourist and community perception-based sustainable tourism indicators as well as Human Pressure Index (HPI) and Tourist Activity Index (TAI). Study was carried out in Sinharaja forest which is considered as one of the major eco-tourism destination in Sri Lanka. Data were gathered using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire as well as records from Forest department. Convenient sampling technique was applied. For the majority of issues, the responses were obtained on multi-point Likert-type scales. Visual portrayal was used for display analyzed data. The study revealed that the host community of the Kudawa gets many benefits from tourism. Also, tourism has caused negative impacts upon the environment and community. The study further revealed the need of proper waste management and involvement of local cultural events for the tourism business in the Kudawa conservation center. The TAI, which accounted to be 1.27 and monthly evolution of HPI revealed that congestion can be occurred in the Sinharaja rainforest during peak season. The results provide useful information to any party involved with tourism planning anywhere, since such attempts would be more effective once the people’s perceptions on these aspects are taken into account.
Keywords: Kudawa conservation center, Sinharaja world heritage rainforest, sustainability indicators.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1153111 Comparison between Separable and Irreducible Goppa Code in McEliece Cryptosystem
Authors: Thuraya M. Qaradaghi, Newroz N. Abdulrazaq
Abstract:
The McEliece cryptosystem is an asymmetric type of cryptography based on error correction code. The classical McEliece used irreducible binary Goppa code which considered unbreakable until now especially with parameter [1024, 524, and 101], but it is suffering from large public key matrix which leads to be difficult to be used practically. In this work Irreducible and Separable Goppa codes have been introduced. The Irreducible and Separable Goppa codes used are with flexible parameters and dynamic error vectors. A Comparison between Separable and Irreducible Goppa code in McEliece Cryptosystem has been done. For encryption stage, to get better result for comparison, two types of testing have been chosen; in the first one the random message is constant while the parameters of Goppa code have been changed. But for the second test, the parameters of Goppa code are constant (m=8 and t=10) while the random message have been changed. The results show that the time needed to calculate parity check matrix in separable are higher than the one for irreducible McEliece cryptosystem, which is considered expected results due to calculate extra parity check matrix in decryption process for g2(z) in separable type, and the time needed to execute error locator in decryption stage in separable type is better than the time needed to calculate it in irreducible type. The proposed implementation has been done by Visual studio C#.Keywords: McEliece cryptosystem, Goppa code, separable, irreducible.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2209110 Artificial Intelligence-Based Chest X-Ray Test of COVID-19 Patients
Authors: Dhurgham Al-Karawi, Nisreen Polus, Shakir Al-Zaidi, Sabah Jassim
Abstract:
The management of COVID-19 patients based on chest imaging is emerging as an essential tool for evaluating the spread of the pandemic which has gripped the global community. It has already been used to monitor the situation of COVID-19 patients who have issues in respiratory status. There has been increase to use chest imaging for medical triage of patients who are showing moderate-severe clinical COVID-19 features, this is due to the fast dispersal of the pandemic to all continents and communities. This article demonstrates the development of machine learning techniques for the test of COVID-19 patients using Chest X-Ray (CXR) images in nearly real-time, to distinguish the COVID-19 infection with a significantly high level of accuracy. The testing performance has covered a combination of different datasets of CXR images of positive COVID-19 patients, patients with viral and bacterial infections, also, people with a clear chest. The proposed AI scheme successfully distinguishes CXR scans of COVID-19 infected patients from CXR scans of viral and bacterial based pneumonia as well as normal cases with an average accuracy of 94.43%, sensitivity 95%, and specificity 93.86%. Predicted decisions would be supported by visual evidence to help clinicians speed up the initial assessment process of new suspected cases, especially in a resource-constrained environment.
Keywords: COVID-19, chest x-ray scan, artificial intelligence, texture analysis, local binary pattern transform, Gabor filter.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 674109 The Concept of the Aesthetic Features in Architectural Structures of the Museums
Authors: D. Moussazadeh, A. Aytug
Abstract:
The focus of this study is to analyze and elaborate the formal factors in the architectural features of the museums. From aesthetic vantage point, this study has scrutinized the formal aesthetic values and identity-related features of the museums. Furthermore, the importance of the museums as the centers of knowledge, science and arts has gradually increased in the last century, whereby they have shifted from an elite standing to the pluralist approach as to address every sections of the community. This study will focus on the museum structures that are designed with the aesthetic apprehension, and presented as the artistic works on the basis of an objective attitude to elaborate the formal aesthetic factors on the formal aesthetics. It is of great importance to increase such studies for getting some concrete results to perceive the recent term aesthetic approaches and improve the forms in line with such approaches. This study elaborates the aesthetic facts solely on the basis of visual dimensions, but ignores the subjective effects to evaluate it in formal, subjective and conceptual aspects. The main material of this study comprises of the descriptive works on the conceptual substructure, and a number of schedules drawn on such concepts, which are applied on the example museum structures. Such works cover many several existing sources such as the design, philosophy, artistic philosophy, shape, form, design elements and principles as well as the museums.
Keywords: Aesthetics, design principles and elements, Gestalt.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1082108 Assessment of the Situation and the Cause of Junk Food Consumption in Iranians: A Qualitative Study
Authors: A. Rezazadeh, B Damari, S. Riazi-Esfahani, M. Hajian
Abstract:
The consumption of junk food in Iran is alarmingly increasing. This study aimed to investigate the influencing factors of junk food consumption and amendable interventions that are criticized and approved by stakeholders, in order to presented to health policy makers. The articles and documents related to the content of study were collected by using the appropriate key words such as junk food, carbonated beverage, chocolate, candy, sweets, industrial fruit juices, potato chips, French fries, puffed corn, cakes, biscuits, sandwiches, prepared foods and popsicles, ice cream, bar, chewing gum, pastilles and snack, in scholar.google.com, pubmed.com, eric.ed.gov, cochrane.org, magiran.com, medlib.ir, irandoc.ac.ir, who.int, iranmedex.com, sid.ir, pubmed.org and sciencedirect.com databases. The main key points were extracted and included in a checklist and qualitatively analyzed. Then a summarized abstract was prepared in a format of a questionnaire to be presented to stakeholders. The design of this was qualitative (Delphi). According to this method, a questionnaire was prepared based on reviewing the articles and documents and it was emailed to stakeholders, who were asked to prioritize and choose the main problems and effective interventions. After three rounds, consensus was obtained. Studies revealed high consumption of junk foods in the Iranian population, especially in children and adolescents. The most important affecting factors include availability, low price, media advertisements, preference of fast foods taste, the variety of the packages and their attractiveness, low awareness and changing in lifestyle. Main interventions recommended by stakeholders include developing a protective environment, educational interventions, increasing healthy food access and controlling media advertisements and putting pressure from the Industry and Mining Ministry on producers to produce healthy snacks. According to the findings, the results of this study may be proposed to public health policymakers as an advocacy paper and to be integrated in the interventional programs of Health and Education ministries and the media. Also, implementation of supportive meetings with the producers of alternative healthy products is suggested.
Keywords: Junk foods, situation, qualitative study, Iran.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1292107 Discovering Complex Regularities: from Tree to Semi-Lattice Classifications
Authors: A. Faro, D. Giordano, F. Maiorana
Abstract:
Data mining uses a variety of techniques each of which is useful for some particular task. It is important to have a deep understanding of each technique and be able to perform sophisticated analysis. In this article we describe a tool built to simulate a variation of the Kohonen network to perform unsupervised clustering and support the entire data mining process up to results visualization. A graphical representation helps the user to find out a strategy to optimize classification by adding, moving or delete a neuron in order to change the number of classes. The tool is able to automatically suggest a strategy to optimize the number of classes optimization, but also support both tree classifications and semi-lattice organizations of the classes to give to the users the possibility of passing from one class to the ones with which it has some aspects in common. Examples of using tree and semi-lattice classifications are given to illustrate advantages and problems. The tool is applied to classify macroeconomic data that report the most developed countries- import and export. It is possible to classify the countries based on their economic behaviour and use the tool to characterize the commercial behaviour of a country in a selected class from the analysis of positive and negative features that contribute to classes formation. Possible interrelationships between the classes and their meaning are also discussed.Keywords: Unsupervised classification, Kohonen networks, macroeconomics, Visual data mining, Cluster interpretation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1541106 Learners’ Perceptions of Tertiary Level Teachers’ Code Switching: A Vietnamese Perspective
Authors: Hoa Pham
Abstract:
The literature on language teaching and second language acquisition has been largely driven by monolingual ideology with a common assumption that a second language (L2) is best taught and learned in the L2 only. The current study challenges this assumption by reporting learners' positive perceptions of tertiary level teachers' code switching practices in Vietnam. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of code switching practices in language classrooms from a learners' perspective. Data were collected from student participants who were working towards a Bachelor degree in English within the English for Business Communication stream through the use of focus group interviews. The literature has documented that this method of interviewing has a number of distinct advantages over individual student interviews. For instance, group interactions generated by focus groups create a more natural environment than that of an individual interview because they include a range of communicative processes in which each individual may influence or be influenced by others - as they are in their real life. The process of interaction provides the opportunity to obtain the meanings and answers to a problem that are "socially constructed rather than individually created" leading to the capture of real-life data. The distinct feature of group interaction offered by this technique makes it a powerful means of obtaining deeper and richer data than those from individual interviews. The data generated through this study were analysed using a constant comparative approach. Overall, the students expressed positive views of this practice indicating that it is a useful teaching strategy. Teacher code switching was seen as a learning resource and a source supporting language output. This practice was perceived to promote student comprehension and to aid the learning of content and target language knowledge. This practice was also believed to scaffold the students' language production in different contexts. However, the students indicated their preference for teacher code switching to be constrained, as extensive use was believed to negatively impact on their L2 learning and trigger cognitive reliance on the L1 for L2 learning. The students also perceived that when the L1 was used to a great extent, their ability to develop as autonomous learners was negatively impacted. This study found that teacher code switching was supported in certain contexts by learners, thus suggesting that there is a need for the widespread assumption about the monolingual teaching approach to be re-considered.Keywords: Code switching, L1 use, L2 teaching, Learners’ perception.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2501105 Applications of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Knowledge Sharing and Management in Construction
Authors: Shu-Hui Jan, Shih-Ping Ho, Hui-Ping Tserng
Abstract:
Construction knowledge can be referred to and reused among involved project managers and jobsite engineers to alleviate problems on a construction jobsite and reduce the time and cost of solving problems related to constructability. This paper proposes a new methodology to provide sharing of construction knowledge by using the Building Information Modeling (BIM) approach. The main characteristics of BIM include illustrating 3D CAD-based presentations and keeping information in a digital format, and facilitation of easy updating and transfer of information in the 3D BIM environment. Using the BIM approach, project managers and engineers can gain knowledge related to 3D BIM and obtain feedback provided by jobsite engineers for future reference. This study addresses the application of knowledge sharing management in the construction phase of construction projects and proposes a BIM-based Knowledge Sharing Management (BIMKSM) system for project managers and engineers. The BIMKSM system is then applied in a selected case study of a construction project in Taiwan to verify the proposed methodology and demonstrate the effectiveness of sharing knowledge in the BIM environment. The combined results demonstrate that the BIMKSM system can be used as a visual BIM-based knowledge sharing management platform by utilizing the BIM approach and web technology.
Keywords: Construction knowledge management, building information modeling, project management, web-based information system.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4345104 Automation of the Maritime UAV Command, Control, Navigation Operations, Simulated in Real-Time Using Kinect Sensor: A Feasibility Study
Authors: Regius Asiimwe, Amir Anvar
Abstract:
This paper describes the process used in the automation of the Maritime UAV commands using the Kinect sensor. The AR Drone is a Quadrocopter manufactured by Parrot [1] to be controlled using the Apple operating systems such as iPhones and Ipads. However, this project uses the Microsoft Kinect SDK and Microsoft Visual Studio C# (C sharp) software, which are compatible with Windows Operating System for the automation of the navigation and control of the AR drone. The navigation and control software for the Quadrocopter runs on a windows 7 computer. The project is divided into two sections; the Quadrocopter control system and the Kinect sensor control system. The Kinect sensor is connected to the computer using a USB cable from which commands can be sent to and from the Kinect sensors. The AR drone has Wi-Fi capabilities from which it can be connected to the computer to enable transfer of commands to and from the Quadrocopter. The project was implemented in C#, a programming language that is commonly used in the automation systems. The language was chosen because there are more libraries already established in C# for both the AR drone and the Kinect sensor. The study will contribute toward research in automation of systems using the Quadrocopter and the Kinect sensor for navigation involving a human operator in the loop. The prototype created has numerous applications among which include the inspection of vessels such as ship, airplanes and areas that are not accessible by human operators.Keywords: UAV, AR drone, Kinect Sensors, Automation, Real time, C sharp, Microsoft Kinect SDK.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2928103 Texture Based Weed Detection Using Multi Resolution Combined Statistical and Spatial Frequency (MRCSF)
Authors: R.S.Sabeenian, V.Palanisamy
Abstract:
Texture classification is a trendy and a catchy technology in the field of texture analysis. Textures, the repeated patterns, have different frequency components along different orientations. Our work is based on Texture Classification and its applications. It finds its applications in various fields like Medical Image Classification, Computer Vision, Remote Sensing, Agricultural Field, and Textile Industry. Weed control has a major effect on agriculture. A large amount of herbicide has been used for controlling weeds in agriculture fields, lawns, golf courses, sport fields, etc. Random spraying of herbicides does not meet the exact requirement of the field. Certain areas in field have more weed patches than estimated. So, we need a visual system that can discriminate weeds from the field image which will reduce or even eliminate the amount of herbicide used. This would allow farmers to not use any herbicides or only apply them where they are needed. A machine vision precision automated weed control system could reduce the usage of chemicals in crop fields. In this paper, an intelligent system for automatic weeding strategy Multi Resolution Combined Statistical & spatial Frequency is used to discriminate the weeds from the crops and to classify them as narrow, little and broad weeds.Keywords: crop weed discrimination, MRCSF, MRFM, Weeddetection, Spatial Frequency.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1826102 FSM-based Recognition of Dynamic Hand Gestures via Gesture Summarization Using Key Video Object Planes
Authors: M. K. Bhuyan
Abstract:
The use of human hand as a natural interface for humancomputer interaction (HCI) serves as the motivation for research in hand gesture recognition. Vision-based hand gesture recognition involves visual analysis of hand shape, position and/or movement. In this paper, we use the concept of object-based video abstraction for segmenting the frames into video object planes (VOPs), as used in MPEG-4, with each VOP corresponding to one semantically meaningful hand position. Next, the key VOPs are selected on the basis of the amount of change in hand shape – for a given key frame in the sequence the next key frame is the one in which the hand changes its shape significantly. Thus, an entire video clip is transformed into a small number of representative frames that are sufficient to represent a gesture sequence. Subsequently, we model a particular gesture as a sequence of key frames each bearing information about its duration. These constitute a finite state machine. For recognition, the states of the incoming gesture sequence are matched with the states of all different FSMs contained in the database of gesture vocabulary. The core idea of our proposed representation is that redundant frames of the gesture video sequence bear only the temporal information of a gesture and hence discarded for computational efficiency. Experimental results obtained demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed scheme for key frame extraction, subsequent gesture summarization and finally gesture recognition.
Keywords: Hand gesture, MPEG-4, Hausdorff distance, finite state machine.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2025101 Embedding a Large Amount of Information Using High Secure Neural Based Steganography Algorithm
Authors: Nameer N. EL-Emam
Abstract:
In this paper, we construct and implement a new Steganography algorithm based on learning system to hide a large amount of information into color BMP image. We have used adaptive image filtering and adaptive non-uniform image segmentation with bits replacement on the appropriate pixels. These pixels are selected randomly rather than sequentially by using new concept defined by main cases with sub cases for each byte in one pixel. According to the steps of design, we have been concluded 16 main cases with their sub cases that covere all aspects of the input information into color bitmap image. High security layers have been proposed through four layers of security to make it difficult to break the encryption of the input information and confuse steganalysis too. Learning system has been introduces at the fourth layer of security through neural network. This layer is used to increase the difficulties of the statistical attacks. Our results against statistical and visual attacks are discussed before and after using the learning system and we make comparison with the previous Steganography algorithm. We show that our algorithm can embed efficiently a large amount of information that has been reached to 75% of the image size (replace 18 bits for each pixel as a maximum) with high quality of the output.Keywords: Adaptive image segmentation, hiding with high capacity, hiding with high security, neural networks, Steganography.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1987100 Railway Crane Accident: A Comparative Metallographic Test on Pins Fractured during Operation
Authors: Thiago Viana
Abstract:
Eventually train accidents occur on railways and for some specific cases it is necessary to use a train rescue with a crane positioned under a platform wagon. These tumbled machines are collected and sent to the machine shop or scrap yard. In one of these cranes that were being used to rescue a wagon, occurred a fall of hoist due to fracture of two large pins. The two pins were collected and sent for failure analysis. This work investigates the main cause and the secondary causes for the initiation of the fatigue crack. All standard failure analysis procedures were applied, with careful evaluation of the characteristics of the material, fractured surfaces and, mainly, metallographic tests using an optical microscope to compare the geometry of the peaks and valleys of the thread of the pins and their respective seats. By metallographic analysis, it was concluded that the fatigue cracks were started from a notch (stress concentration) in the valley of the threads of the pin applied to the right side of the crane (pin 1). In this, it was verified that the peaks of the threads of the pin seat did not have proper geometry, with sharp edges being present that caused such notches. The visual analysis showed that fracture of the pin on the left side of the crane (pin 2) was brittle type, being a consequence of the fracture of the first one. Recommendations for this and other railway cranes have been made, such as nondestructive testing, stress calculation, design review, quality control and suitability of the mechanical forming process of the seat threads and pin threads.
Keywords: Crane, fracture, pin, railway.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 51199 New Chinese Landscapes in the Works of the Chinese Photographer Yao Lu
Authors: Xiaoling Dai
Abstract:
Many Chinese artists have used digital photography to create works with features of Chinese landscape paintings since the 20th century. The ‘New Mountains and Water’ works created by digital techniques reflect the fusion of photographic techniques and traditional Chinese aesthetic thoughts. Borrowing from Chinese landscape paintings in the Song Dynasty, the Chinese photographer Yao Lu uses digital photography to reflect contemporary environmental construction in his series New Landscapes. By portraying a variety of natural environments brought by urbanization in the contemporary period, Lu deconstructs traditional Chinese paintings and reconstructs contemporary photographic practices. The primary object of this study is to investigate how Chinese photographer Yao Lu redefines and re-interprets the relationship between tradition and contemporaneity. In this study, Yao Lu’s series work New Landscapes is used for photo elicitation, which seeks to broaden understanding of the development of Chinese landscape photography. Furthermore, discourse analysis will be used to evaluate how Chinese social developments influence the creation of photographic practices. Through the visual and discourse analysis, this study aims to excavate the relationship between tradition and contemporaneity in Lu’s works. According to New Landscapes, the study argues that in Lu’s interpretations of landscapes, tradition and contemporaneity are seen to establish a new relationship. Traditional approaches to creation do not become obsolete over time. On the contrary, traditional notions and styles of creation can shed new light on contemporary issues or techniques.
Keywords: Chinese aesthetics, contemporaneity, New Landscapes, tradition, Yao Lu.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19898 A Study on the Condition Monitoring of Transmission Line by On-line Circuit Parameter Measurement
Authors: Il Dong Kim, Jin Rak Lee, Young Jun Ko, Young Taek Jin
Abstract:
An on-line condition monitoring method for transmission line is proposed using electrical circuit theory and IT technology in this paper. It is reasonable that the circuit parameters such as resistance (R), inductance (L), conductance (g) and capacitance (C) of a transmission line expose the electrical conditions and physical state of the line. Those parameters can be calculated from the linear equation composed of voltages and currents measured by synchro-phasor measurement technique at both end of the line. A set of linear voltage drop equations containing four terminal constants (A, B ,C ,D ) are mathematical models of the transmission line circuits. At least two sets of those linear equations are established from different operation condition of the line, they may mathematically yield those circuit parameters of the line. The conditions of line connectivity including state of connecting parts or contacting parts of the switching device may be monitored by resistance variations during operation. The insulation conditions of the line can be monitored by conductance (g) and capacitance(C) measurements. Together with other condition monitoring devices such as partial discharge, sensors and visual sensing device etc.,they may give useful information to monitor out any incipient symptoms of faults. The prototype of hardware system has been developed and tested through laboratory level simulated transmission lines. The test has shown enough evident to put the proposed method to practical uses.
Keywords: Transmission Line, Condition Monitoring, Circuit Parameters, Synchro- phasor Measurement.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 319797 Innovative Teaching in Systems Analysis and Design - an Action Research Project
Authors: Imelda Smit
Abstract:
Systems Analysis and Design is a key subject in Information Technology courses, but students do not find it easy to cope with, since it is not “precise" like programming and not exact like Mathematics. It is a subject working with many concepts, modeling ideas into visual representations and then translating the pictures into a real life system. To complicate matters users who are not necessarily familiar with computers need to give their inputs to ensure that they get the system the need. Systems Analysis and Design also covers two fields, namely Analysis, focusing on the analysis of the existing system and Design, focusing on the design of the new system. To be able to test the analysis and design of a system, it is necessary to develop a system or at least a prototype of the system to test the validity of the analysis and design. The skills necessary in each aspect differs vastly. Project Management Skills, Database Knowledge and Object Oriented Principles are all necessary. In the context of a developing country where students enter tertiary education underprepared and the digital divide is alive and well, students need to be motivated to learn the necessary skills, get an opportunity to test it in a “live" but protected environment – within the framework of a university. The purpose of this article is to improve the learning experience in Systems Analysis and Design through reviewing the underlying teaching principles used, the teaching tools implemented, the observations made and the reflections that will influence future developments in Systems Analysis and Design. Action research principles allows the focus to be on a few problematic aspects during a particular semester.Keywords: Action Research, Project Development, Systems Analysis and Design, Technology in Teaching.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 145096 Influence of Seasons on Honeybee Wooden Hives Attack by Termites in Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Authors: A. A. Aiyeloja, G.A. Adedeji, S. L. Larinde
Abstract:
Termites have been observed as major pre-colonisation and post-colonisation pest insect of honeybees’ wooden hives in Nigeria. However, pest situation studies in modern beekeeping have been largely directed towards those pests that affect honeybees rather than the biological structure (wood) which houses the honeybees and the influence of seasons on the pests’ activities against the hives. This study, therefore, investigated the influence of seasons on the intensity of hives attacks by termites for 2 years in University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State using visual inspection. The Experimental Apiary was established with 15 Kenyan’s top bar hives made of Triplochiton scleroxylon wood that were strategically placed and observed within the Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management arboretum. The colonies hives consistently showed comparatively lower termite’s infestation levels in the dry season and, consequently, also lower attacks on the colonized hives. The result indicated raining season as a distinct period for more destructive activities of termites on the hives and strongly associated with dryness of the hives. Since previous study and observations have linked colonization with dry season coupled with minimal attacked on colonized hives; the non-colonised hives should be removed from the field at the onset of raining season and returned two weeks prior to dry season to reduce hives degradation by pests.
Keywords: Attack, hives degradation, Nigeria, seasons, termites.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2822