Landmarks are preferred image features for a variety of computer vision tasks such as image mensuration, registration, camera calibration, motion analysis, 3D scene reconstruction, and object recognition. Main advantages of using landmarks are robustness w. r. t. lightning conditions and other radiometric vari ations as well as the ability to cope with large displacements in registration or motion analysis tasks. Also, landmark-based approaches are in general com putationally efficient, particularly when using point landmarks. Note, that the term landmark comprises both artificial and natural landmarks. Examples are comers or other characteristic points in video images, ground control points in aerial images, anatomical landmarks in medical images, prominent facial points used for biometric verification, markers at human joints used for motion capture in virtual reality applications, or in- and outdoor landmarks used for autonomous navigation of robots. This book covers the extraction oflandmarks from images as well as the use of these features for elastic image registration. Our emphasis is onmodel-based approaches, i. e. on the use of explicitly represented knowledge in image analy sis. We principally distinguish between geometric models describing the shape of objects (typically their contours) and intensity models, which directly repre sent the image intensities, i. e., the appearance of objects. Based on these classes of models we develop algorithms and methods for analyzing multimodality im ages such as traditional 20 video images or 3D medical tomographic images."

Realistic and immersive simulations of land, sea, and sky are requisite to the military use of visual simulation for mission planning. Until recently, the simulation of natural environments has been limited first of all by the pixel resolution of visual displays. Visual simulation of those natural environments has also been limited by the scarcity of detailed and accurate physical descriptions of them. Our aim has been to change all that. To this end, many of us have labored in adjacent fields of psych- ogy, engineering, human factors, and computer science. Our efforts in these areas were occasioned by a single question: how distantly can fast-jet pilots discern the aspect angle of an opposing aircraft, in visual simulation? This question needs some ela- ration: it concerns fast jets, because those simulations involve the representation of high speeds over wide swaths of landscape. It concerns pilots, since they begin their careers with above-average acuity of vision, as a population. And it concerns aspect angle, which is as much as to say that the three-dimensional orientation of an opposing aircraft relative to one's own, as revealed by motion and solid form. v vi Preface The single question is by no means simple. It demands a criterion for eye-limiting resolution in simulation. That notion is a central one to our study, though much abused in general discussion. The question at hand, as it was posed in the 1990s, has been accompanied by others.

Visual Communication: An Information Theory Approach presents an entirely new look at the assessment and optimization of visual communication channels, such as are employed for telephotography and television. The electro-optical design of image gathering and display devices, and the digital processing for image coding and restoration, have remained independent disciplines which follow distinctly separate traditions; yet the performance of visual communication channels cannot be optimized just by cascading image-gathering devices, image-coding processors, and image-restoration algorithms as the three obligatory, but independent, elements of a modern system. Instead, to produce the best possible picture at the lowest data rate', it is necessary to jointly optimize image gathering, coding, and restoration. Although the mathematical development in Visual Communication: An Information Theory Approach is firmly rooted in familiar concepts of communication theory, it leads to formulations that are significantly different from those that are found in the traditional literature on either rate distortion theory or digital image processing. For example, the Wiener filter, which is perhaps the most common image restoration algorithm in the traditional digital image processing literature, fails to fully account for the constraints of image gathering and display. As demonstrated in the book, digitally restored images improve in sharpness and clarity when these constraints are properly accounted for. Visual Communication: An Information Theory Approach is unique in its extension of modern communication theory to the end-to-end assessment of visual communication. from scene to observer. As such, itties together the traditional textbook literature on electro-optical design and digital image processing. This book serves as an invaluable reference for image processing and electro-optical system design professionals and may be used as a text for advanced courses on the subject.

This thesis primarily focuses on how to carry out intelligent sensing and understand the high-dimensional and low-quality visual information. After exploring the inherent structures of the visual data, it proposes a number of computational models covering an extensive range of mathematical topics, including compressive sensing, graph theory, probabilistic learning and information theory. These computational models are also applied to address a number of real-world problems including biometric recognition, stereo signal reconstruction, natural scene parsing, and SAR image processing.

"A results-oriented book. Quality line drawings, lucid photography, and informative graphs are used generously... The theoretical rigor of each chapter amply supports the real-world design examples that follow." -- Sensors Magazine

"One of the few sources to offer such comprehensive coverage." -- IEEE Electrical Insulation

Covering some of the most cutting-edge research on the delivery and retrieval of interactive multimedia content, this volume of specially chosen contributions provides the most updated perspective on one of the hottest contemporary topics. The material represents extended versions of papers presented at the 11th International Workshop on Image Analysis for Multimedia Interactive Services, a vital international forum on this fast-moving field. Logically organized in discrete sections that approach the subject from its various angles, the content deals in turn with content analysis, motion and activity analysis, high-level descriptors and video retrieval, 3-D and multi-view, and multimedia delivery. The chapters cover the finest detail of emerging techniques such as the use of high-level audio information in improving scene segmentation and the use of subjective logic for forensic visual surveillance. On content delivery, the book examines both images and video, focusing on key subjects including an efficient pre-fetching strategy for JPEG 2000 image sequences. Further contributions look at new methodologies for simultaneous block reconstruction and provide a trellis-based algorithm for faster motion-vector decision making.

More mathematicians have been taking part in the development of digital image processing as a science and the contributions are reflected in the increasingly important role modeling has played solving complex problems. This book is mostly concerned with energy-based models. Through concrete image analysis problems, the author develops consistent modeling, a know-how generally hidden in the proposed solutions. The book is divided into three main parts. The first two parts describe the materials necessary to the models expressed in the third part. These materials include splines (variational approach, regression spline, spline in high dimension), and random fields (Markovian field, parametric estimation, stochastic and deterministic optimization, continuous Gaussian field). Most of these models come from industrial projects in which the author was involved in robot vision and radiography: tracking 3D lines, radiographic image processing, 3D reconstruction and tomography, matching, deformation learning. Numerous graphical illustrations accompany the text showing the performance of the proposed models. This book will be useful to researchers and graduate students in applied mathematics, computer vision, and physics.

Nonlinear Optics in Signal Processing covers the applications of nonlinear optics to optical processing in a range of areas including switching, computing, and telecommunications.

"Optical Interconnects in Future Data Center Networks" covers optical networks and how they can be used to provide high bandwidth, energy efficient interconnects for future data centers with increased communication bandwidth requirements. This contributed volume presents an integrated view of the future requirements of the data centers and serves as a reference work for some of the most advanced solutions that have been proposed by major universities and companies.

Collecting the most recent and innovative optical interconnects for data center networks that have been presented in the research community by universities and industries, this book is a valuable reference to researchers, students, professors and engineers interested in the domain of high performance interconnects and data center networks. Additionally, "Optical Interconnects in Future Data Center Networks" provides invaluable insights into the benefits and advantages of optical interconnects and how they can be a promising alternative for future data center networks. "

This is a concise introduction into optical fiber communication. It covers important aspects from the physics of optical wave propagation and amplification to the essentials of modulation formats and receivers. The combination of a solid coverage of necessary fundamental theory with an in-depth discussion of recent relevant research results enables the reader to design modern optical fiber communication systems. The book serves both graduate students and professionals. It includes many worked examples with solutions for lecturers. For the second edition, Reinhold Noe made many changes and additions throughout the text so that this concise book presents the essentials of optical fiber communication in an easy readable and understandable way.

Traditionally, three-dimensional image analysis (a.k.a. computer vision) and three-dimensional image synthesis (a.k.a. computer graphics) were separate fields. Rarely were experts working in one area interested in and aware of the advances in the other. Over the last decade this has changed dramatically, reflecting the growing maturity of each of these areas. The vision and graphics communities are today engaged in a mutually beneficial exchange, learning from each other and coming up with new ideas and techniques that build on the state of the art in both fields. This book is the result of a fruitful collaboration between scientists at the University of NA1/4rnberg, Germany, who, coming from diverse fields, are working together propelled by the vision of a unified area of three-dimensional image analysis and synthesis. Principles of 3D Image Analysis and Synthesis starts out at the image acquisition end of a hypothetical processing chain, proceeds with analysis, recognition and interpretation of images, towards the representation of scenes by 3D geometry, then back to images via rendering and visualization techniques. Coverage includes discussion of range cameras, multiview image processing, the structure-from-motion problem, object recognition, knowledge-based image analysis, active vision, geometric modeling with meshes and splines, and reverse engineering. Also included is cutting-edge coverage of texturing techniques, global illumination, image-based rendering, volume visualization, flow visualization techniques, and acoustical imaging including object localization from audio and video. This state-of-the-art volume is a concise and readable reference for scientists, engineers, graduate students and educators working in image processing, vision, computer graphics, or visualization.

This book focuses on use of voice as a biometric measure for personal authentication. In particular, "Speaker Recognition" covers two approaches in speaker authentication: speaker verification (SV) and verbal information verification (VIV). The SV approach attempts to verify a speaker 's identity based on his/her voice characteristics while the VIV approach validates a speaker 's identity through verification of the content of his/her utterance(s). SV and VIV can be combined for new applications. This is still a new research topic with significant potential applications.The book provides with a broad overview of the recent advances in speaker authentication while giving enough attention to advanced and useful algorithms and techniques. It also provides a step by step introduction to the current state of the speaker authentication technology, from the fundamental concepts to advanced algorithms. We will also present major design methodologies and share our experience in developing real and successful speaker authentication systems. Advanced and useful topics and algorithms are selected with real design examples and evaluation results. Special attention is given to the topics related to improving overall system robustness and performances, such as robust endpoint detection, fast discriminative training theory and algorithms, detection-based decoding, sequential authentication, etc. For example, the sequential authentication was developed based on statistical sequential testing theory. By adding enough subtests, a speaker authentication system can achieve any accuracy requirement. The procedure of designing the sequential authentication will be presented. For any presented technique, we will provide experimental results to validate the usefulness. We will also highlight the important developments in academia, government, and industry, and outline a few open issues.As the methodologies developed in speaker authentication span several diverse fields, the tutorial book provides an introductory forum for a broad spectrum of researchers and developers from different areas to acquire the knowledge and skills to engage in the interdisciplinary fields of user authentication, biometrics, speech and speaker recognition, multimedia, and dynamic pattern recognition.

Advanced Fiber Access Networks takes a holistic view of broadband access networks-from architecture to network technologies and network economies. The book reviews pain points and challenges that broadband service providers face (such as network construction, fiber cable efficiency, transmission challenges, network scalability, etc.) and how these challenges are tackled by new fiber access transmission technologies, protocols and architecture innovations. Chapters cover fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) applications as well as fiber backhauls in other access networks such as 5G wireless and hybrid-fiber-coax (HFC) networks. In addition, it covers the network economy, challenges in fiber network construction and deployment, and more. Finally, the book examines scaling issues and bottlenecks in an end-to-end broadband network, from Internet backbones to inside customer homes, something rarely covered in books.

This book introduces key modulation and predistortion techniques for approaching power and spectrum-efficient transmission for wireless communication systems. The book presents a combination of theoretical principles, practical implementations, and actual tests. It focuses on power and spectrally efficient modulation and transmission techniques in the portable wireless communication systems, and introduces currently developed and designed RF transceivers in the latest wireless markets. Most materials, design examples, and design strategies used are based on the author's two decades of work in the digital communication fields, especially in the areas of the digital modulations, demodulations, digital signal processing, and linearization of power amplifiers. The applications of these practical products and equipment cover the satellite communications on earth station systems, microwave communication systems, 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA mobile communication systems, and 802.11 WLAN systems.>

New to the Second Edition: offers the latest developments in standards activities (JPEG-LS, MPEG-4, MPEG-7, and H.263) provides a comprehensive review of recent activities on multimedia enhanced processors, multimedia coprocessors, and dedicated processors, including examples from industry. Image and Video Compression Standards: Algorithms and Architectures, Second Edition presents an introduction to the algorithms and architectures that form the underpinnings of the image and video compressions standards, including JPEG (compression of still-images), H.261 and H.263 (video teleconferencing), and MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 (video storage and broadcasting). The next generation of audiovisual coding standards, such as MPEG-4 and MPEG-7, are also briefly described. In addition, the book covers the MPEG and Dolby AC-3 audio coding standards and emerging techniques for image and video compression, such as those based on wavelets and vector quantization. Image and Video Compression Standards: Algorithms and Architectures, Second Edition emphasizes the foundations of these standards; namely, techniques such as predictive coding, transform-based coding such as the discrete cosine transform (DCT), motion estimation, motion compensation, and entropy coding, as well as how they are applied in the standards. The implementation details of each standard are avoided; however, the book provides all the material necessary to understand the workings of each of the compression standards, including information that can be used by the reader to evaluate the efficiency of various software and hardware implementations conforming to these standards. Particular emphasis is placed on those algorithms and architectures that have been found to be useful in practical software or hardware implementations. Image and Video Compression Standards: Algorithms and Architectures, Second Edition uniquely covers all major standards (JPEG, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.261, H.263) in a simple and tutorial manner, while fully addressing the architectural considerations involved when implementing these standards. As such, it serves as a valuable reference for the graduate student, researcher or engineer. The book is also used frequently as a text for courses on the subject, in both academic and professional settings.

This book describes recent innovations in 3D media and technologies, with coverage of 3D media capturing, processing, encoding, and adaptation, networking aspects for 3D Media, and quality of user experience (QoE). The contributions are based on the results of the FP7 European Project ROMEO, which focuses on new methods for the compression and delivery of 3D multi-view video and spatial audio, as well as the optimization of networking and compression jointly across the future Internet. The delivery of 3D media to individual users remains a highly challenging problem due to the large amount of data involved, diverse network characteristics and user terminal requirements, as well as the user's context such as their preferences and location. As the number of visual views increases, current systems will struggle to meet the demanding requirements in terms of delivery of consistent video quality to fixed and mobile users. ROMEO will present hybrid networking solutions that combine the DVB-T2 and DVB-NGH broadcast access network technologies together with a QoE aware Peer-to-Peer (P2P) distribution system that operates over wired and wireless links. Live streaming 3D media needs to be received by collaborating users at the same time or with imperceptible delay to enable them to watch together while exchanging comments as if they were all in the same location. This book is the second of a series of three annual volumes devoted to the latest results of the FP7 European Project ROMEO. The present volume provides state-of-the-art information on immersive media, 3D multi-view video, spatial audio, cloud-based media, networking protocols for 3D media, P2P 3D media streaming, and 3D Media delivery across heterogeneous wireless networks among other topics. Graduate students and professionals in electrical engineering and computer science with an interest in 3D Future Internet Media will find this volume to be essential reading. Describes the latest innovations in 3D technologies and Future Internet Media Focuses on research to facilitate application scenarios such as social TV and high-quality, real-time collaboration Discusses QoE for 3D Represents the last of a series of three volumes devoted to contributions from FP7 projects in the area of 3D and networked media

This volume provides universal methodologies accompanied by Matlab software to manipulate numerous signal and image processing applications. It is done with discrete and polynomial periodic splines. Various contributions of splines to signal and image processing from a unified perspective are presented. This presentation is based on Zak transform and on Spline Harmonic Analysis (SHA) methodology. SHA combines approximation capabilities of splines with the computational efficiency of the Fast Fourier transform. SHA reduces the design of different spline types such as splines, spline wavelets (SW), wavelet frames (SWF) and wavelet packets (SWP) and their manipulations by simple operations. Digital filters, produced by wavelets design process, give birth to subdivision schemes. Subdivision schemes enable to perform fast explicit computation of splines' values at dyadic and triadic rational points. This is used for signals and images up sampling. In addition to the design of a diverse library of splines, SW, SWP and SWF, this book describes their applications to practical problems. The applications include up sampling, image denoising, recovery from blurred images, hydro-acoustic target detection, to name a few. The SWF are utilized for image restoration that was degraded by noise, blurring and loss of significant number of pixels. The book is accompanied by Matlab based software that demonstrates and implements all the presented algorithms. The book combines extensive theoretical exposure with detailed description of algorithms, applications and software. The Matlab software can be downloaded from http://extras.springer.com

As the demand for data reliability increases, coding for error control becomes increasingly important in data transmission systems and has become an integral part of almost all data communication system designs. In recent years, various trellis-based soft-decoding algorithms for linear block codes have been devised. New ideas developed in the study of trellis structure of block codes can be used for improving decoding and analyzing the trellis complexity of convolutional codes. These recent developments provide practicing communication engineers with more choices when designing error control systems. Trellises and Trellis-based Decoding Algorithms for Linear Block Codes combines trellises and trellis-based decoding algorithms for linear codes together in a simple and unified form. The approach is to explain the material in an easily understood manner with minimal mathematical rigor. Trellises and Trellis-based Decoding Algorithms for Linear Block Codes is intended for practicing communication engineers who want to have a fast grasp and understanding of the subject. Only material considered essential and useful for practical applications is included. This book can also be used as a text for advanced courses on the subject.

In the last decade, optically functionalized materials have developed rapidly, from bulk matters to structured forms. Now we have a rich variety of attractive advanced materials. They are applied to optical and electrical devices that support the information communication technology in the mid 21-th century. Accordingly, it is quite important to have a broad knowledge of the optical properties of advanced materials for students, scientists and engineers working in optics and related fields. This book is designed to teach fundamental optical properties of such advanced materials effectively. These materials have their own peculiarities which are very interesting in modern optical physics and also for applications because the concepts of optical properties are quite different from those in conventional optical materials. Hence each chapter starts to review the basic concepts of the materials briefly and proceeds to the practical use. The important topics covered in this book include: quantum structures of semiconductors, spintronics, photonic crystals, surface plasmons in metallic nanostructures, photonic metamaterials, liquid crystal materials, organic LED materials and magnet-optics.

Although it has long been possible to make organic materials emit light, it has only recently become possible to do so at the level and with the efficiency and control necessary to make the materials a useful basis for illumination or displays. The early electroluminescent devices provided reasonably bright light, but required high operating voltages, produced only a narrow range of colors, and had severely limited lifetimes. Recent developments, however, make it possible to manufacture organic light-emitting devices that are thin, bright, efficient, and stable and that produce a broad range of colors. This book surveys the current status of the field. It begins with an overview of the physics and chemistry of organic light emitting devices by J. Shinar and V. Savvateev. Subsequenbt chapters discuss the design of molecular materials for high performance devices (C. Adachi and T. Tsutsui) and chemical degradation and physical aging (K. Higginson, D. L. Thomsen, B. Yang, and F. Papadimitrakopoulos). A. Dodabalapur describes microcavity OLEDs, and Y. Shi, J. Liu, and Y. Yang discuss polymer morphology and device performance. Various aspects of devices based on polyparaphenylene vinylenes are discussed in chapters by N.C. Greenham and R.H. Friend and by H. Chayet, V. Savvateeyv, D. Davidov and R. Neumann. Chapters by S. Tasch, W. Graupner, and G. Leising and by Y. Z. Wang, D. Gebler, and A. J. Epstein describe OLEDs based on poly(paraphenylene) and poly(pyridine), respectively. The book concludes with a chapter on polyfluorene-based devices, which show great promise for producing light in all colors from blue to red.

This book describes an ECG processing architecture that guides biomedical SoC developers, from theory to implementation and testing. The authors provide complete coverage of the digital circuit implementation of an ultra-low power biomedical SoC, comprised of a detailed description of an ECG processor implemented and fabricated on chip. Coverage also includes the challenges and tradeoffs of designing ECG processors. Describes digital circuit architecture for implementing ECG processing algorithms on chip; Includes coverage of signal processing techniques for ECG processing; Features ultra-low power circuit design techniques; Enables design of ECG processing architectures and their respective on-chip implementation.

This book serves as a hands-on guide to RF tunable devices, circuits and subsystems. An innovative of modeling for tunable devices and networks is described, along with a new tuning algorithm, adaptive matching network control approach, and novel filter frequency automatic control loop. The author provides readers with the necessary background and methods for designing and developing tunable RF networks/circuits and tunable RF font-ends, with an emphasis on applications to cellular communications.

There is currently a high level of interest in the field of nonlinear guided wave optics with the availability of nonlinear materials and their use in new areas of application. This is particularly the case for solitons and other types of nonlinear pulses in optical fibers, high capacity dispersion-free communications. Further, soliton-like beams in highly nonlinear materials, such as organic polymers, are being studied with a view to using them for fast-switching purposes in devices where the light creates its own guiding channel. Written by two authors who are at the forefront of this research, Solitons provides a thorough treatment of the applications of switching devices. It presents the results of the most up to date research on the subject in an accessible manner and adopts a unified approach to solitons in fibers and the devices which use them. The book is an essential reference work for both professional engineers working in optoelectronics and telecommunications companies and graduate students and researchers in the area.

"...provides the full, exciting story of optical modulators. ... a comprehensive review, from the fundamental science to the material and processing technology to the optimized device design to the multitude of applications for which broadband optical modulators bring great value. ... Especially valuable in my view is that the authors are internationally known researchers, developers, and systems people who are experts in their field, writing now, with the perspective that time offers, about their groundbreaking work. " -Dr. Rodney C. Alferness, Senior Vice President of Optical Networking Research at Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs Considered the most comprehensive book yet published on this critical subject, Broadband Optical Modulators: Science, Technology, and Applications offers an incredibly wide-ranging yet in-depth overview of the state of the art in the design and use of optical modulators. A compilation of expert insights, this book covers fundamental and practical aspects, from materials to systems, addressing historical and more recent developments. Coverage includes: Optical and electro-optic properties of traditional single crystalline lithium niobate, silicon, and III-V compound semiconductors, as well as emerging electro-optic polymers and organic nonlinear optic crystals Discussion of factors important to modulator design, fabrication, and performance Fundamental topics, such as electro-optic effect in nonlinear optic crystals and semiconductors Leaders in the field created this invaluable reference for scientific researchers involved in high-speed device research and development, especially in the areas of optical transmitters and optical modulators for fiber-optics communication systems. Helping readers master optical modulation techniques, this book will be invaluable to engineers (system/subsystem designers, product developers, and technical and project managers) and other professionals in the telecommunications and defense industries. It offers the audience-which includes graduate students-an in-depth understanding of the new modulator architectures and technologies now available, as well as the strengths, weaknesses, advantages, and trade-offs associated with each.