Covariance matrices play important roles in many areas of mathematics, statistics, and machine learning, as well as their applications. In computer vision and image processing, they give rise to a powerful data representation, namely the covariance descriptor, with numerous practical applications. In this book, we begin by presenting an overview of the {\it finite-dimensional covariance matrix} representation approach of images, along with its statistical interpretation. In particular, we discuss the various distances and divergences that arise from the intrinsic geometrical structures of the set of Symmetric Positive Definite (SPD) matrices, namely Riemannian manifold and convex cone structures. Computationally, we focus on kernel methods on covariance matrices, especially using the Log-Euclidean distance. We then show some of the latest developments in the generalization of the finite-dimensional covariance matrix representation to the {\it infinite-dimensional covariance operator} representation via positive definite kernels. We present the generalization of the affine-invariant Riemannian metric and the Log-Hilbert-Schmidt metric, which generalizes the Log-Euclidean distance. Computationally, we focus on kernel methods on covariance operators, especially using the Log-Hilbert-Schmidt distance. Specifically, we present a two-layer kernel machine, using the Log-Hilbert-Schmidt distance and its finite-dimensional approximation, which reduces the computational complexity of the exact formulation while largely preserving its capability. Theoretical analysis shows that, mathematically, the approximate Log-Hilbert-Schmidt distance should be preferred over the approximate Log-Hilbert-Schmidt inner product and, computationally, it should be preferred over the approximate affine-invariant Riemannian distance. Numerical experiments on image classification demonstrate significant improvements of the infinite-dimensional formulation over the finite-dimensional counterpart. Given the numerous applications of covariance matrices in many areas of mathematics, statistics, and machine learning, just to name a few, we expect that the infinite-dimensional covariance operator formulation presented here will have many more applications beyond those in computer vision.

The three volume set LNCS 7583, 7584 and 7585 comprises the Workshops and Demonstrations which took place in connection with the European Conference on Computer Vision, ECCV 2012, held in Firenze, Italy, in October 2012. The total of 179 workshop papers and 23 demonstration papers was carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the proceedings. They where held at workshops with the following themes: non-rigid shape analysis and deformable image alignment; visual analysis and geo-localization of large-scale imagery; Web-scale vision and social media; video event categorization, tagging and retrieval; re-identification; biological and computer vision interfaces; where computer vision meets art; consumer depth cameras for computer vision; unsolved problems in optical flow and stereo estimation; what's in a face?; color and photometry in computer vision; computer vision in vehicle technology: from earth to mars; parts and attributes; analysis and retrieval of tracked events and motion in imagery streams; action recognition and pose estimation in still images; higher-order models and global constraints in computer vision; information fusion in computer vision for concept recognition; 2.5D sensing technologies in motion: the quest for 3D; benchmarking facial image analysis technologies.

Group and Crowd Behavior for Computer Vision provides a multidisciplinary perspective on how to solve the problem of group and crowd analysis and modeling, combining insights from the social sciences with technological ideas in computer vision and pattern recognition. The book answers many unresolved issues in group and crowd behavior, with Part One providing an introduction to the problems of analyzing groups and crowds that stresses that they should not be considered as completely diverse entities, but as an aggregation of people. Part Two focuses on features and representations with the aim of recognizing the presence of groups and crowds in image and video data. It discusses low level processing methods to individuate when and where a group or crowd is placed in the scene, spanning from the use of people detectors toward more ad-hoc strategies to individuate group and crowd formations. Part Three discusses methods for analyzing the behavior of groups and the crowd once they have been detected, showing how to extract semantic information, predicting/tracking the movement of a group, the formation or disaggregation of a group/crowd and the identification of different kinds of groups/crowds depending on their behavior. The final section focuses on identifying and promoting datasets for group/crowd analysis and modeling, presenting and discussing metrics for evaluating the pros and cons of the various models and methods. This book gives computer vision researcher techniques for segmentation and grouping, tracking and reasoning for solving group and crowd modeling and analysis, as well as more general problems in computer vision and machine learning.

The two-volume set LNCS 9279 and 9280 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Image Analysis and Processing, ICIAP 2015, held in Genoa, Italy, in September 2015. The 129 papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 231 submissions. The papers are organized in the following seven topical sections: video analysis and understanding, multiview geometry and 3D computer vision, pattern recognition and machine learning, image analysis, detection and recognition, shape analysis and modeling, multimedia, and biomedical applications.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of seven workshops held at the 18th International Conference on Image Analysis and Processing, ICIAP 2015, in Genoa, Italy, in September 2015: International Workshop on Recent Advances in Digital Security: Biometrics and Forensics, BioFor 2015; International Workshop on Color in Texture and Material Recognition, CTMR 2015; International Workshop on Medical Imaging in Rheumatology: Advanced applications for the analysis of in ammation and damage in the rheumatoid Joint, RHEUMA 2015; International Workshop on Image-Based Smart City Application, ISCA 2015; International Workshop on Multimedia Assisted Dietary Management, MADiMa 2015; International Workshop on Scene Background Modeling and initialization, SBMI 2015; and International Workshop on Image and Video Processing for Quality of Multimedia Experience, QoEM 2015.

The three volume set LNCS 7583, 7584 and 7585 comprises the Workshops and Demonstrations which took place in connection with the European Conference on Computer Vision, ECCV 2012, held in Firenze, Italy, in October 2012. The total of 179 workshop papers and 23 demonstration papers was carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the proceedings. They where held at workshops with the following themes: non-rigid shape analysis and deformable image alignment; visual analysis and geo-localization of large-scale imagery; Web-scale vision and social media; video event categorization, tagging and retrieval; re-identification; biological and computer vision interfaces; where computer vision meets art; consumer depth cameras for computer vision; unsolved problems in optical flow and stereo estimation; what's in a face?; color and photometry in computer vision; computer vision in vehicle technology: from earth to mars; parts and attributes; analysis and retrieval of tracked events and motion in imagery streams; action recognition and pose estimation in still images; higher-order models and global constraints in computer vision; information fusion in computer vision for concept recognition; 2.5D sensing technologies in motion: the quest for 3D; benchmarking facial image analysis technologies.

The three volume set LNCS 7583, 7584 and 7585 comprises the Workshops and Demonstrations which took place in connection with the European Conference on Computer Vision, ECCV 2012, held in Firenze, Italy, in October 2012. The total of 179 workshop papers and 23 demonstration papers was carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the proceedings. They where held at workshops with the following themes: non-rigid shape analysis and deformable image alignment; visual analysis and geo-localization of large-scale imagery; Web-scale vision and social media; video event categorization, tagging and retrieval; re-identification; biological and computer vision interfaces; where computer vision meets art; consumer depth cameras for computer vision; unsolved problems in optical flow and stereo estimation; what's in a face?; color and photometry in computer vision; computer vision in vehicle technology: from earth to mars; parts and attributes; analysis and retrieval of tracked events and motion in imagery streams; action recognition and pose estimation in still images; higher-order models and global constraints in computer vision; information fusion in computer vision for concept recognition; 2.5D sensing technologies in motion: the quest for 3D; benchmarking facial image analysis technologies.

Multimodal Scene Understanding: Algorithms, Applications and Deep Learning presents recent advances in multi-modal computing, with a focus on computer vision and photogrammetry. It provides the latest algorithms and applications that involve combining multiple sources of information and describes the role and approaches of multi-sensory data and multi-modal deep learning. The book is ideal for researchers from the fields of computer vision, remote sensing, robotics, and photogrammetry, thus helping foster interdisciplinary interaction and collaboration between these realms. Researchers collecting and analyzing multi-sensory data collections - for example, KITTI benchmark (stereo+laser) - from different platforms, such as autonomous vehicles, surveillance cameras, UAVs, planes and satellites will find this book to be very useful.

The two-volume set LNCS 9279 and 9280 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Image Analysis and Processing, ICIAP 2015, held in Genoa, Italy, in September 2015. The 129 papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 231 submissions. The papers are organized in the following seven topical sections: video analysis and understanding, multiview geometry and 3D computer vision, pattern recognition and machine learning, image analysis, detection and recognition, shape analysis and modeling, multimedia, and biomedical applications.