Scalar diffraction from a circular aperture is a ubiquitous problem that arises in a variety of disciplines, such as optics (lenses), acoustics (speakers), electromagnetics (dish antennas), and ultrasonics (piston transducers). The problem endures despite centuries of research because each new generation of researchers rediscovers it and adds some novel insight or new result to the existing literature. Scalar Diffraction from a Circular Aperture promises a few new results and several novel insights, particularly with regard to spatial averaging. Although the text emphasizes ultrasonic diffraction, the results and insights developed are general and may be applied to the many practical problems involving scalar diffraction from a circular aperture. Included are novel insights on mirror-image diffraction, autoconvolution diffraction, and coherent and incoherent averaging. Examples from ultrasonic imaging, a coherent imaging modality, are used to develop a fairly general theory that connects over a century of research on scalar diffraction from a circular aperture. The material is based on a synthesis of mathematics, physical optics, linear systems theory, and scalar diffraction theory. Thus, engineers, scientists, mathematicians, and students working in optics, acoustics, antenna design, biomedical engineering, non-destructive testing, and astronomy will find Scalar Diffraction from a Circular Aperture interesting, provocative, and useful.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Speech and Computer, SPECOM 2014, held in Novi Sad, Serbia. The 56 revised full papers presented together with 3 invited talks were carefully reviewed and selected from 100 initial submissions. It is a conference with long tradition that attracts researchers in the area of computer speech processing (recognition, synthesis, understanding etc.) and related domains (including signal processing, language and text processing, multi-modal speech processing or human-computer interaction for instance).

Here is the first of a two-volume set (LNCS 8021 and 8022) that constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality, VAMR 2013, held as part of the 15th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2013, held in Las Vegas, USA in July 2013, jointly with 12 other thematically similar conferences. The total of 1666 papers and 303 posters presented at the HCII 2013 conferences was carefully reviewed and selected from 5210 submissions. These papers address the latest research and development efforts and highlight the human aspects of design and use of computing systems. The papers accepted for presentation thoroughly cover the entire field of human-computer interaction, addressing major advances in knowledge and effective use of computers in a variety of application areas. The total of 88 contributions included in the VAMR proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in this two-volume set. The papers included in this volume are organized in the following topical sections: developing augmented and virtual environments, interaction in augmented and virtual environments, human-robot interaction in virtual environments, and presence and tele-presence.; healthcare and medical applications; virtual and augmented environments for learning and education; business, industrial and military applications; culture and entertainment applications.

This book provides an overview of the X Window System focusing on characteristics that have significant impact on the development of both application programs and widgets. We pay special attention to applications that go beyond graphical user interfaces (GUIs); therefore we discuss issues affecting video games, visualization and imaging programs, and designing widgets with a complex appearance. While the book does not assume previous knowledge of X, it is intended for experienced programmers, especially those who want to write programs that go beyond simple GUIs. X is the dominant window system under Unix, and X servers are available for Microsoft Windows, thus enabling graphics over a network in the PC world. While Java offers an apparently universal graphics library (the abstract window toolkit), the reality is quite different: For high-quality graphics and image display, we must program on the target platform itself (X or one of Microsoft's APIs) rather than rely on Java peer objects. X is a vast subject, so it is impossible to provide a complete coverage in a few hundred pages. Thus we selected topics that are fundamental to the system, so that the reader who masters them should be able to read the documentation of the numerous libraries and toolkits. Therefore we provide documentation on the most important Xlib and X toolkit functions only.

Computer vision is the science and technology of making machines that see. It is concerned with the theory, design and implementation of algorithms that can automatically process visual data to recognize objects, track and recover their shape and spatial layout. The International Computer Vision Summer School - ICVSS was established in 2007 to provide both an objective and clear overview and an in-depth analysis of the state-of-the-art research in Computer Vision. The courses are delivered by world renowned experts in the field, from both academia and industry, and cover both theoretical and practical aspects of real Computer Vision problems. The school is organized every year by University of Cambridge (Computer Vision and Robotics Group) and University of Catania (Image Processing Lab). Different topics are covered each year. A summary of the past Computer Vision Summer Schools can be found at: http://www.dmi.unict.it/icvss This edited volume contains a selection of articles covering some of the talks and tutorials held during the last editions of the school. The chapters provide an in-depth overview of challenging areas with key references to the existing literature.

Geometric modelling has been an important and interesting subject for many years from the purely mathematical and computer science viewpoint, and also from the standpoint of engineering and various other applications, such as CAD/CAM, entertainment, animation, and multimedia. This book focuses on the interaction between the theoretical foundation of geometric modelling and practical applications in CAD and related areas. Geometric Modelling: Theoretical and Computational Basis towards Advanced CAD Applications starts with two position papers, discussing basic computational theory and practical system solutions. The well-organized seven review papers give a systematic overview of the current situation and deep insight for future research and development directions towards the reality of shape representation and processing. They discuss various aspects of important issues, such as geometric computation for space search and shape generation, parametric modelling, feature modelling, user interface for geometric modelling, geometric modelling for the Next Generation CAD, and geometric/shape standard. Other papers discuss features and new research directions in geometric modelling, solid modeling, free-form surface modeling, intersection calculation, mesh modeling and reverse engineering. They cover a wide range of geometric modelling issues to show the problem scope and the technological importance. Researchers interested in the current status of geometric modelling research and developments will find this volume to be an essential reference.

This volume contains the proceedings of the 12th Italian Workshop on Neural Nets WIRN VIETRI-Ol, jointly organized by the International Institute for Advanced Scientific Studies "Eduardo R. Caianiello" (IIASS), the Societa Italiana Reti Neuroniche (SIREN), the IEEE NNC Italian RIG and the Italian SIG of the INNS. Following the tradition of previous years, we invited three foreign scientists to the workshop, Dr. G. Indiveri and Professors A. Roy and R. Sun, who respectively presented the lectures "Computation in Neuromorphic Analog VLSI Systems", "On Connectionism and Rule Extraction", "Beyond Simple Rule Extraction: Acquiring Planning Knowledge from Neural Networks" (the last two papers being part of the special session mentioned below). In addition, a review talk was presented, dealing with a very up-to-date topic: "NeuroJuzzy Approximator based on Mamdani's Model". A large part of the book contains original contributions approved by referees as oral or poster presentations, which have been assembled for reading convenience into three sections: Architectures and Algorithms, Image and Signal Processing, and Applications. The last part of the books contains the papers of the special Session "From Synapses to Rules". Our thanks go to Prof. B. Apolloni, who organized this section. Furthermore, two sections are dedicated to the memory of two great scientists who were friends in life, Professors Mark Aizerman and Eduardo R. Caianiello. The editors would like to thank the invited speakers, the review lecturers and all the contributors whose highly qualified papers helped with the success of the workshop.

Video segmentation has become one of the core areas in visual signal processing research. The objective of Video Segmentation and Its Applications is to present the latest advances in video segmentation and analysis techniques while covering the theoretical approaches, real applications and methods being developed in the computer vision and video analysis community. The book will also provide researchers and practitioners a comprehensive understanding of state-of-the-art of video segmentation techniques and a resource for potential applications and successful practice.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Image Analysis and Recognition, ICIAR 2013, held in Povoa do Varzim, Portugal, in June 2013, The 92 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 177 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on biometrics: behavioral; biometrics: physiological; classification and regression; object recognition; image processing and analysis: representations and models, compression, enhancement , feature detection and segmentation; 3D image analysis; tracking; medical imaging: image segmentation, image registration, image analysis, coronary image analysis, retinal image analysis, computer aided diagnosis, brain image analysis; cell image analysis; RGB-D camera applications; methods of moments; applications.

This book brings together several advanced topics in computer graphics that are important in the areas of game development, three-dimensional animation and real-time rendering. The book is designed for final-year undergraduate or first-year graduate students, who are already familiar with the basic concepts in computer graphics and programming. It aims to provide a good foundation of advanced methods such as skeletal animation, quaternions, mesh processing and collision detection. These and other methods covered in the book are fundamental to the development of algorithms used in commercial applications as well as research.

This book includes the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the 16th Annual RoboCup International Symposium, held in Mexico City, Mexico, in June 2012. The 24 revised papers presented together with nine champion team papers and one best paper award were carefully reviewed and selected from 64 submissions. The papers present current research and educational activities within the fields of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence with a special focus to robot hardware and software, perception and action, robotic cognition and learning, multi-robot systems, human-robot interaction, education and edutainment, and applications.

PDE & Level Sets: Algorithmic Approaches to Static & Motion Imagery is specially dedicated to the segmentation of complex shapes from the field of imaging sciences using level sets and PDEs. It covers the fundamentals of level sets, different kinds of concepts of both geodesic curvature flows and planar flows, as well as the power of incorporation of regional-statistics in level set framework. In covering this material, this book presents segmentation of object-in-motion imagery based on level sets in eigen analysis framework, while also presenting classical problems of boundary completion in cognitive images, like the pop-up of subjective contours in the famous triangle of Kanizsa using surface evolution framework, or the mean curvature evolution of a graph with respect to the Riemannian metric induced by the image. All results are presented for modal completion of cognitive objects with missing boundaries.
PDE & Level Sets: Algorithmic Approaches to Static & Motion Imagery is aimed at researchers and educators in imaging sciences, biomedical engineering, applied mathematics, algorithmic development, computer vision, signal processing, computer graphics and multimedia in general, both in academia and industry.
Key Features: -Presents detailed review of PDEs and level sets,
-Covers concepts of geodesic curvature flows and planar flows,
-Offers advance applications of level sets for crack propagation and planar cracks,
-Describes multi-resolution level sets for segmentation of video images,
-Identifies fusion of fuzzy techniques in level set framework,
-Discusses the role of subjective surfaces and Riemannian metric.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Futures, CAAD Futures 2013, held in Shanghai, China, in July 2013. The 35 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 78 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on digital aids to design creativity, concepts, and strategies; digital fabrication and local materialization; human-computer interaction, user participation, and collaborative design; modeling and simulation; shape and form studies.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 11th International Workshop on Multiple Classifier Systems, MCS 2013, held in Nanjing, China, in May 2013. The 34 revised papers presented together with two invited papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 59 submissions. The papers address issues in multiple classifier systems and ensemble methods, including pattern recognition, machine learning, neural network, data mining and statistics.

Palmprint Authentication is the first book to provide a comprehensive introduction to palmprint technologies. It reveals automatic biometric techniques for personal identification using palmprint, from the approach based on offline palmprint images, to the current state-of-the-art algorithm using online palmprint images. Palmprint Authentication provides the reader with a basic concept of Palmprint Authentication. It also includes an in-depth discussion of Palmprint Authentication technologies, a detailed description of Palmprint Authentication systems, and an up-to-date coverage of how these issues are developed. This book is suitable for different levels of readers: those who want to learn more about palmprint technology, and those who wish to understand, participate, and/or develop a palmprint authentication system. Palmprint Authentication is effectively a handbook for biometric research and development. Graduate students and researchers in computer science, electrical engineering, systems science, and information technology will all find it uniquely useful, not only as a reference book, but also as a text book. Researchers and practitioners in industry, and R&D laboratories working in the fields of security system design, biometrics, immigration, law enforcement, control, and pattern recognition will also benefit from this volume.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post workshop proceedings of the 10th International Workshop on Approximation and Online Algorithms, WAOA 2012, held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in September 2012 as part of the ALGO 2012 conference event. The 22 revised full papers presented together with invited talk were carefully reviewed and selected from 60 submissions. The workshop covered areas such as geometric problems, online algorithms, scheduling, algorithmic game theory, and approximation algorithms.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International Workshop on Augemented Environments for Computer-Assisted Interventions, held in conjunction with MICCAI 2012, in Nice, France in September 2012. The 16 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 22 submissions. The papers cover the topics of image registration and fusion, calibration, visualization and 3D perception, hardware and optical design, real-time implementation, as well as validation, clinical applications, and clinical evaluation.

Content-Based Analysis Of Digital Video focuses on fundamental issues underlying the development of content access mechanisms for digital video. It treats topics that are critical to successfully automating the video content extraction and retrieval processes, and includes coverage of: - Video parsing, - Video content indexing and representation, - Affective video content analysis. In this well illustrated book the author integrates related information currently scattered throughout the literature and combines it with new ideas into a unified theoretical approach to video content analysis. The material also suggests ideas for future research. Systems developers, researchers and students working in the area of content-based analysis and retrieval of video and multimedia in general will find this book invaluable.

Corona SDK is one of the most popular app and game mobile development platforms in the world, and Learn Corona SDK Game Development walks you through creating a full-featured Corona game from scratch to the App Store. You'll learn Lua basics (the foundation of Corona), how to add and manipulate graphics, and how to use controls like multitouch, accelerometer, and gyroscope. You'll also learn how to use Box2D (Corona physics under the hood), and how to add sound effects and music. As you're polishing your game, you'll also learn about ads, in-app purchases, and OpenFeint and Game Center integration. Finally, you'll learn the ins and outs of getting a game into the App Store or other app marketplaces. Whether you're developing exclusively for iOS, or whether you're developing for Android or other platforms, Learn Corona SDK Game Development explains just what you need to launch your career as a mobile game developer. What you'll learn Just enough Lua to get started with Corona How to put your Corona code together How to work with images and effects Adding music and sound Game physics and AI Working with app stores and marketplaces Who this book is for Beginning mobile game developers, with a grasp of the basics of programming, who want a complete walkthrough of the Corona app and game development tool, or iOS or Android developers who want to learn about Corona SDK.

The idea of writing a book on CMOS imaging has been brewing for several years. It was placed on a fast track after we agreed to organize a tutorial on CMOS sensors for the 2004 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS 2004). This tutorial defined the structure of the book, but as first time authors/editors, we had a lot to learn about the logistics of putting together information from multiple sources. Needless to say, it was a long road between the tutorial and the book, and it took more than a few months to complete. We hope that you will find our journey worthwhile and the collated information useful. The laboratories of the authors are located at many universities distributed around the world. Their unifying theme, however, is the advancement of knowledge for the development of systems for CMOS imaging and image processing. We hope that this book will highlight the ideas that have been pioneered by the authors, while providing a roadmap for new practitioners in this field to exploit exciting opportunities to integrate imaging and "smartness" on a single VLSI chip. The potential of these smart imaging systems is still unfulfilled. Hence, there is still plenty of research and development to be done.

In this book, the design of two new planar patterns for camera calibration of intrinsic parameters is addressed and a line-based method for distortion correction is suggested. The dynamic calibration of structured light systems, which consist of a camera and a projector is also treated. Also, the 3D Euclidean reconstruction by using the image-to-world transformation is investigated. Lastly, linear calibration algorithms for the catadioptric camera are considered, and the homographic matrix and fundamental matrix are extensively studied. In these methods, analytic solutions are provided for the computational efficiency and redundancy in the data can be easily incorporated to improve reliability of the estimations. This volume will therefore prove valuable and practical tool for researchers and practioners working in image processing and computer vision and related subjects.

An exciting new development has taken place in the digital era that has captured the imagination and talent of researchers around the globe - wavelet image compression. This technology has deep roots in theories of vision, and promises performance improvements over all other compression methods, such as those based on Fourier transforms, vectors quantizers, fractals, neural nets, and many others. It is this revolutionary new technology that is presented in Wavelet Image and Video Compression, in a form that is accessible to the largest audience possible. Wavelet Image and Video Compression is divided into four parts. Part I, Background Material, introduces the basic mathematical structures that underly image compression algorithms with the intention of providing an easy introduction to the mathematical concepts that are prerequisites for the remainder of the book. It explains such topics as change of bases, scalar and vector quantization, bit allocation and rate-distortion theory, entropy coding, the discrete-cosine transform, wavelet filters and other related topics. Part II, Still Image Coding, presents a spectrum of wavelet still image coding techniques. Part III, Special Topics in Still Image Coding, provides a variety of example coding schemes with a special flavor in either approach or application domain. Part IV, Video Coding, examines wavelet and pyramidal coding techniques for video data. Wavelet Image and Video Compression serves as an excellent reference and may be used as a text for advanced courses covering the subject.

ICMCCA 2012 is the first International Conference on Multimedia Processing, Communication and Computing Applications and the theme of the Conference is chosen as 'Multimedia Processing and its Applications'. Multimedia processing has been an active research area contributing in many frontiers of today's science and technology. This book presents peer-reviewed quality papers on multimedia processing, which covers a very broad area of science and technology. The prime objective of the book is to familiarize readers with the latest scientific developments that are taking place in various fields of multimedia processing and is widely used in many disciplines such as Medical Diagnosis, Digital Forensic, Object Recognition, Image and Video Analysis, Robotics, Military, Automotive Industries, Surveillance and Security, Quality Inspection, etc. The book will assist the research community to get the insight of the overlapping works which are being carried out across the globe at many medical hospitals and institutions, defense labs, forensic labs, academic institutions, IT companies and security & surveillance domains. It also discusses latest state-of-the-art research problems and techniques and helps to encourage, motivate and introduce the budding researchers to a larger domain of multimedia.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Statistical Atlases and Computational Models of the Heart: Imaging and Modelling Challenges, STACOM 2012, held in conjunction with MICCAI 2012, in Nice, France, in October 2012.
The 42 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on CFD challenge, DE-MRI segmentation challenge, LV landmark detection challenge, motion tracking analysis challenge, and regular papers.

Bayesian Approach to Image Interpretation will interest anyone working in image interpretation. It is complete in itself and includes background material. This makes it useful for a novice as well as for an expert. It reviews some of the existing probabilistic methods for image interpretation and presents some new results. Additionally, there is extensive bibliography covering references in varied areas. For a researcher in this field, the material on synergistic integration of segmentation and interpretation modules and the Bayesian approach to image interpretation will be beneficial. For a practicing engineer, the procedure for generating knowledge base, selecting initial temperature for the simulated annealing algorithm, and some implementation issues will be valuable. New ideas introduced in the book include: New approach to image interpretation using synergism between the segmentation and the interpretation modules. A new segmentation algorithm based on multiresolution analysis. Novel use of the Bayesian networks (causal networks) for image interpretation. Emphasis on making the interpretation approach less dependent on the knowledge base and hence more reliable by modeling the knowledge base in a probabilistic framework. Useful in both the academic and industrial research worlds, Bayesian Approach to Image Interpretation may also be used as a textbook for a semester course in computer vision or pattern recognition.