This book constitutes the refereed conference proceedings of the 20th International Workshop on Functional and Constraint Logic Programming, WFLP 2011, held in Odense, Denmark, in July 2011 as Part of the 13th International Symposium on Principles and Practice of Declarative Programming (PPDP 2011), the 22st International Symposium on Logic-Based Program Synthesis and Transformation (LOPSTR 2011), and the 4th International Workshop on Approaches and Applications of Inductive Programming (AAIP 2011). From the 10 papers submitted, 9 were accepted for presentation the proceeding. The papers cover current research in all areas of functional and logic programming as well as the integration of constraint logic and object-oriented programming, and term rewriting.

Data Management and Internet Computing for Image/Pattern Analysis focuses on the data management issues and Internet computing aspect of image processing and pattern recognition research. The book presents a comprehensive overview of the state of the art, providing detailed case studies that emphasize how image and pattern (IAP) data are distributed and exchanged on sequential and parallel machines, and how the data communication patterns in low- and higher-level IAP computing differ from general numerical computation, what problems they cause and what opportunities they provide. The studies also describe how the images and matrices should be stored, accessed and distributed on different types of machines connected to the Internet, and how Internet resource sharing and data transmission change traditional IAP computing. Data Management and Internet Computing for Image/Pattern Analysis is divided into three parts: the first part describes several software approaches to IAP computing, citing several representative data communication patterns and related algorithms; the second part introduces hardware and Internet resource sharing in which a wide range of computer architectures are described and memory management issues are discussed; and the third part presents applications ranging from image coding, restoration and progressive transmission. Data Management and Internet Computing for Image/Pattern Analysis is an excellent reference for researchers and may be used as a text for advanced courses in image processing and pattern recognition.

Monitoring of public and private sites has increasingly become a very sensitive issue resulting in a patchwork of privacy laws varying from country to country -though all aimed at protecting the privacy of the citizen. It is important to remember, however, that monitoring and vi sual surveillance capabilities can also be employed to aid the citizen. The focus of current development is primarily aimed at public and cor porate safety applications including the monitoring of railway stations, airports, and inaccessible or dangerous environments. Future research effort, however, has already targeted citizen-oriented applications such as monitoring assistants for the aged and infirm, route-planning and congestion-avoidance tools, and a range of environment al monitoring applications. The latest generation of surveillance systems has eagerly adopted re cent technological developments to produce a fully digital pipeline of digital image acquisition, digital data transmission and digital record ing. The resultant surveillance products are highly-fiexihle, capahle of generating forensic-quality imagery, and ahle to exploit existing Internet and wide area network services to provide remote monitoring capability.

Face Image Analysis by Unsupervised Learning explores adaptive approaches to image analysis. It draws upon principles of unsupervised learning and information theory to adapt processing to the immediate task environment. In contrast to more traditional approaches to image analysis in which relevant structure is determined in advance and extracted using hand-engineered techniques, Face Image Analysis by Unsupervised Learning explores methods that have roots in biological vision and/or learn about the image structure directly from the image ensemble. Particular attention is paid to unsupervised learning techniques for encoding the statistical dependencies in the image ensemble. The first part of this volume reviews unsupervised learning, information theory, independent component analysis, and their relation to biological vision. Next, a face image representation using independent component analysis (ICA) is developed, which is an unsupervised learning technique based on optimal information transfer between neurons. The ICA representation is compared to a number of other face representations including eigenfaces and Gabor wavelets on tasks of identity recognition and expression analysis. Finally, methods for learning features that are robust to changes in viewpoint and lighting are presented. These studies provide evidence that encoding input dependencies through unsupervised learning is an effective strategy for face recognition. Face Image Analysis by Unsupervised Learning is suitable as a secondary text for a graduate-level course, and as a reference for researchers and practitioners in industry.

Computer vision algorithms for the analysis of video data are obtained from a camera aimed at the user of an interactive system. It is potentially useful to enhance the interface between users and machines. These image sequences provide information from which machines can identify and keep track of their users, recognize their facial expressions and gestures, and complement other forms of human-computer interfaces. Facial Analysis from Continuous Video with Applications to Human-Computer Interfaces presents a learning technique based on information-theoretic discrimination which is used to construct face and facial feature detectors. This book also describes a real-time system for face and facial feature detection and tracking in continuous video. Finally, this book presents a probabilistic framework for embedded face and facial expression recognition from image sequences. Facial Analysis from Continuous Video with Applications to Human-Computer Interfaces is designed for a professional audience composed of researchers and practitioners in industry. This book is also suitable as a secondary text for graduate-level students in computer science and engineering.

"Mobile Authentication: Problems and Solutions" looks at human-to-machine authentication, with a keen focus on the mobile scenario. Human-to-machine authentication is a startlingly complex issue. In the old days of computer security-before 2000, the human component was all but disregarded. It was either assumed that people should and would be able to follow instructions, or that end users were hopeless and would always make mistakes. The truth, of course, is somewhere in between, which is exactly what makes this topic so enticing. We cannot make progress with human-to-machine authentication without understanding both humans and machines. Mobile security is not simply security ported to a handset. Handsets have different constraints than traditional computers, and are used in a different way. Text entry is more frustrating, and therefore, it is tempting to use shorter and less complex passwords. It is also harder to detect spoofing. We need to design with this in mind. We also need to determine how exactly to integrate biometric readers to reap the maximum benefits from them. This book addresses all of these issues, and more.

The ability to extract generic 3D objects from images is a crucial step towards automation of a variety of problems in cartographic database compilation, industrial inspection and assembly, and autonomous navigation. Many of these problem domains do not have strong constraints on object shape or scene content, presenting serious obstacles for the development of robust object detection and delineation techniques. Geometric Constraints for Object Detection and Delineation addresses these problems with a suite of novel methods and techniques for detecting and delineating generic objects in images of complex scenes, and applies them to the specific task of building detection and delineation from monocular aerial imagery. PIVOT, the fully automated system implementing these techniques, is quantitatively evaluated on 83 images covering 18 test scenes, and compared to three existing systems for building extraction. The results highlight the performance improvements possible with rigorous photogrammetric camera modeling, primitive-based object representations, and geometric constraints derived from their combination. PIVOT's performance illustrates the implications of a clearly articulated set of philosophical principles, taking a significant step towards automatic detection and delineation of 3D objects in real-world environments. Geometric Constraints for Object Detection and Delineation is suitable as a textbook or as a secondary text for a graduate-level course, and as a reference for researchers and practitioners in industry.

This book constitutes revised selected papers from the 9th International Gesture Workshop, GW 2011, held in Athens, Greece, in May 2011. The 24 papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 35 submissions. They are ordered in five sections named: human computer interaction; cognitive processes; notation systems and animation; gestures and signs: linguistic analysis and tools; and gestures and speech.

Advanced Video-Based Surveillance Systems presents second generation surveillance systems that automatically process large sets of signals for performance monitoring tasks. Included is coverage of different architecture designs, customization of surveillance architecture for end-users, advances in the processing of imaging sequences, security systems, sensors, and remote monitoring projects. Examples are provided of surveillance applications in highway traffic control, subway stations, wireless communications, and other areas. This work will be of interest to researchers in image processing, computer vision, digital signal processing, and telecommunications.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 11th International Symposium on Smart Graphics, SG 2011, held in Bremen, Germany, in July 2011. The 10 revised full papers presented together with 12 short papers and 4 systems demonstrations were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions covering a wide range of topics including view and camera control; three-dimensional modeling; visual information encoding; video projection; information visualization; interaction techniques; visual communication; and graphics and audio.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th IAPR-TC-15 International Workshop on Graph-Based Representations in Pattern Recognition, GbRPR 2011, held in Munster, Germany, in May 2011.
The 34 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on graph-based representation and characterization, graph matching, classification, and querying, graph-based learning, graph-based segmentation, and applications."

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 15th and 16th International Conference on Formal Grammar 2010 and 2011, collocated with the European Summer School in Logic, Language and Information in July 2010/2011. The 19 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 50 submissions. The papers papers deal with the following topics: formal and computational phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics; model-theoretic and proof-theoretic methods in linguistics; logical aspects of linguistic structure; constraint-based and resource-sensitive approaches to grammar; learnability of formal grammar; integration of stochastic and symbolic models of grammar; foundational, methodological and architectural issues in grammar; mathematical foundations of statistical approaches to linguistic analysis.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third Workshop on Human Behavior Understanding, HBU 2012, held in Vilamoura, Portugal, in October 2012. The 14 revised papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 31 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on sensing human behavior; social and affective signals; human-robot interaction; imitation and learning from demonstration.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the International Conference on Research and Education in Robotics held in Rapperswil-Jona, Switzerland, in May 2010. The 17 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 24 submissions. They are organized in topical sections on mechanical design and system architecture, flexible robot strategy design, and autonomous mobile robot development.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 10th German Conference on Multiagent System Technologies held in Trier Germany, in October 2012. The 7 revised full papers presented together with 6 short parers and one invited paper were carefully reviewed and selected from 39 submissions. The paper cover various research topics in intelligent agents and multi-agent-systems. In particular, the conference investigated technologies for truly open distributed systems covering a wide spectrum of approaches from self-organization and autonomous systems to agreement computing.

Optical character recognition (OCR) is the most prominent and successful example of pattern recognition to date. There are thousands of research papers and dozens of OCR products. Optical Character Rcognition: An Illustrated Guide to the Frontier offers a perspective on the performance of current OCR systems by illustrating and explaining actual OCR errors. The pictures and analysis provide insight into the strengths and weaknesses of current OCR systems, and a road map to future progress. Optical Character Recognition: An Illustrated Guide to the Frontier will pique the interest of users and developers of OCR products and desktop scanners, as well as teachers and students of pattern recognition, artificial intelligence, and information retrieval. The first chapter compares the character recognition abilities of humans and computers. The next four chapters present 280 illustrated examples of recognition errors, in a taxonomy consisting of Imaging Defects, Similar Symbols, Punctuation, and Typography. These examples were drawn from large-scale tests conducted by the authors. The final chapter discusses possible approaches for improving the accuracy of today's systems, and is followed by an annotated bibliography. Optical Character Recognition: An Illustrated Guide to the Frontier is suitable as a secondary text for a graduate level course on pattern recognition, artificial intelligence, and information retrieval, and as a reference for researchers and practitioners in industry.

The two-volume set LNAI 7094 and LNAI 7095 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th Mexican International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, MICAI 2011, held in Puebla, Mexico, in November/December 2011. The 96 revised papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The first volume includes 50 papers representing the current main topics of interest for the AI community and their applications. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: automated reasoning and multi-agent systems; problem solving and machine learning; natural language processing; robotics, planning and scheduling; and medical applications of artificial intelligence.

Imaging for Forensics and Security: From Theory to Practice provides a detailed analysis of new imaging and pattern recognition techniques for the understanding and deployment of biometrics and forensic techniques as practical solutions to increase security. It contains a collection of the recent advances in the technology ranging from theory, design, and implementation to performance evaluation of biometric and forensic systems. This book also contains new methods such as the multiscale approach, directional filter bank, and wavelet maxima for the development of practical solutions to biometric problems.

The book introduces a new forensic system based on shoeprint imagery with advanced techniques for use in forensics applications. It also presents the concept of protecting the originality of biometric images stored in databases against intentional and unintentional attacks and fraud detection data in order to further increase the security.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International Workshop on Mesh Processing in Medical Image Analysis, MeshMed 2012, held in Nice, France, in October 2012 in conjunction with MICCAI 2012, the 15th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention. The book includes 16 submissions, 8 were selected for presentation along with the 3 plenary talks representative of the meshing, and 8 were selected for poster presentations. The papers cover a broad range of topics, including statistical shape analysis and atlas construction, novel meshing approaches, soft tissue simulation, quad dominant meshing and mesh based shape descriptors. The described techniques were applied to a variety of medical data including cortical bones, ear canals, cerebral aneurysms and vascular structures.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 13th European Conference on Logics in Artificial Intelligence, held in Toulouse, France, in September 2012. The book includes 3 invited talks, 36 regular papers, and 5 system descriptions, selected from 107 submissions. The papers cover various aspects of theory and methods of logic for artificial intelligence.

The two-volume proceedings, LNCS 6927 and LNCS 6928, constitute the papers presented at the 13th International Conference on Computer Aided Systems Theory, EUROCAST 2011, held in February 2011 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. The total of 160 papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the books. The contributions are organized in topical sections on concepts and formal tools; software applications; computation and simulation in modelling biological systems; intelligent information processing; heurist problem solving; computer aided systems optimization; model-based system design, simulation, and verification; computer vision and image processing; modelling and control of mechatronic systems; biomimetic software systems; computer-based methods for clinical and academic medicine; modeling and design of complex digital systems; mobile and autonomous transportation systems; traffic behaviour, modelling and optimization; mobile computing platforms and technologies; and engineering systems applications.

The seven-volume set comprising LNCS volumes 7572-7578 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Computer Vision, ECCV 2012, held in Florence, Italy, in October 2012. The 408 revised papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 1437 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on geometry, 2D and 3D shapes, 3D reconstruction, visual recognition and classification, visual features and image matching, visual monitoring: action and activities, models, optimisation, learning, visual tracking and image registration, photometry: lighting and colour, and image segmentation.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Information Technologies in Biomedicine, ITIB 2012, held in Goglin, Poland, in June 2012. The 60 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on image analysis; signal processing; biocybernetics; biomaterials; bioinformatics and biotechnology; biomechanics and rehabilitation; assisted living systems.

This book contains thoroughly refereed and revised papers from the 8th International Andrei Ershov Memorial Conference on Perspectives of System Informatics, PSI 2011, held in Akademgorodok, Novosibirsk, Russia, in June/July 2011. The 18 revised full papers and 10 revised short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 60 submissions. The volume also contains 5 invited papers covering a range of hot topics in computer science and informatics. The papers are organized in topical sections on foundations of program and system development and analysis, partial evaluation, mixed computation, abstract interpretation, compiler construction, computer models and algorithms for bioinformatics, programming methodology and software engineering, information technologies, knowledge-based systems, and knowledge engineering.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 34th Symposium of the German Association for Pattern Recognition, DAGM 2012, and the 36th Symposium of the Austrian Association for Pattern Recognition, OAGM 2012, held in Graz, Austria, in August 2012. The 27 revised full papers and 23 revised poster papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 98 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on segmentation, low-level vision, 3D reconstruction, recognition, applications, learning, and features.