Perspectives In Shape Analysis

This book presents recent advances in the field of shape analysis. Written by experts in the fields of continuous-scale shape analysis, discrete shape analysis and sparsity, and numerical computing who hail from different communities, it provides a unique view of the topic from a broad range of perspectives. Over the last decade, it has become increasingly affordable to digitize shape information at high resolution. Yet analyzing and processing this data remains challenging because of the large amount of data involved, and because modern applications such as human-computer interaction require real-time processing. Meeting these challenges requires interdisciplinary approaches that combine concepts from a variety of research areas, including numerical computing, differential geometry, deformable shape modeling, sparse data representation, and machine learning. On the algorithmic side, many shape analysis tasks are modeled using partial differential equations, which can be solved using tools from the field of numerical computing. The fields of differential geometry and deformable shape modeling have recently begun to influence shape analysis methods. Furthermore, tools from the field of sparse representations, which aim to describe input data using a compressible representation with respect to a set of carefully selected basic elements, have the potential to significantly reduce the amount of data that needs to be processed in shape analysis tasks. The related field of machine learning offers similar potential. The goal of the Dagstuhl Seminar on New Perspectives in Shape Analysis held in February 2014 was to address these challenges with the help of the latest tools related to geometric, algorithmic and numerical concepts and to bring together researchers at the forefront of shape analysis who can work together to identify open problems and novel solutions. The book resulting from this seminar will appeal to researchers in the field of shape analysis, image and vision, from those who want to become more familiar with the field, to experts interested in learning about the latest advances.​

This comprehensive and authoritative text/reference presents a unique, multidisciplinary perspective on Shape Perception in Human and Computer Vision. Rather than focusing purely on the state of the art, the book provides viewpoints from world-class researchers reflecting broadly on the issues that have shaped the field. Drawing upon many years of experience, each contributor discusses the trends followed and the progress made, in addition to identifying the major challenges that still lie ahead. Topics and features: examines each topic from a range of viewpoints, rather than promoting a specific paradigm; discusses topics on contours, shape hierarchies, shape grammars, shape priors, and 3D shape inference; reviews issues relating to surfaces, invariants, parts, multiple views, learning, simplicity, shape constancy and shape illusions; addresses concepts from the historically separate disciplines of computer vision and human vision using the same “language” and methods.

An in-depth description of the state-of-the-art of 3D shape analysis techniques and their applications This book discusses the different topics that come under the title of "3D shape analysis". It covers the theoretical foundations and the major solutions that have been presented in the literature. It also establishes links between solutions proposed by different communities that studied 3D shape, such as mathematics and statistics, medical imaging, computer vision, and computer graphics. The first part of 3D Shape Analysis: Fundamentals, Theory, and Applications provides a review of the background concepts such as methods for the acquisition and representation of 3D geometries, and the fundamentals of geometry and topology. It specifically covers stereo matching, structured light, and intrinsic vs. extrinsic properties of shape. Parts 2 and 3 present a range of mathematical and algorithmic tools (which are used for e.g., global descriptors, keypoint detectors, local feature descriptors, and algorithms) that are commonly used for the detection, registration, recognition, classification, and retrieval of 3D objects. Both also place strong emphasis on recent techniques motivated by the spread of commodity devices for 3D acquisition. Part 4 demonstrates the use of these techniques in a selection of 3D shape analysis applications. It covers 3D face recognition, object recognition in 3D scenes, and 3D shape retrieval. It also discusses examples of semantic applications and cross domain 3D retrieval, i.e. how to retrieve 3D models using various types of modalities, e.g. sketches and/or images. The book concludes with a summary of the main ideas and discussions of the future trends. 3D Shape Analysis: Fundamentals, Theory, and Applications is an excellent reference for graduate students, researchers, and professionals in different fields of mathematics, computer science, and engineering. It is also ideal for courses in computer vision and computer graphics, as well as for those seeking 3D industrial/commercial solutions.

The concept of 'shape' is at the heart of image processing and computer vision, yet researchers still have some way to go to replicate the human brain's ability to extrapolate meaning from the most basic of outlines. This volume reflects the advances of the last decade, which have also opened up tough new challenges in image processing. Today's applications require flexible models as well as efficient, mathematically justified algorithms that allow data processing within an acceptable timeframe. Examining important topics in continuous-scale and discrete modeling, as well as in modern algorithms, the book is the product of a key seminar focused on innovations in the field. It is a thorough introduction to the latest technology, especially given the tutorial style of a number of chapters. It also succeeds in identifying promising avenues for future research. The topics covered include mathematical morphology, skeletonization, statistical shape modeling, continuous-scale shape models such as partial differential equations and the theory of discrete shape descriptors. Some authors highlight new areas of enquiry such as partite skeletons, multi-component shapes, deformable shape models, and the use of distance fields. Combining the latest theoretical analysis with cutting-edge applications, this book will attract both academics and engineers.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 37th German Conference on Pattern Recognition, GCPR 2015, held in Aachen, Germany, in October 2015. The 45 revised full papers and one Young Researchers Forum presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 108 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on motion and reconstruction; mathematical foundations and image processing; biomedical image analysis and applications; human pose analysis; recognition and scene understanding.

A thoroughly revised and updated edition of this introduction to modern statistical methods for shape analysis Shape analysis is an important tool in the many disciplines where objects are compared using geometrical features. Examples include comparing brain shape in schizophrenia; investigating protein molecules in bioinformatics; and describing growth of organisms in biology. This book is a significant update of the highly-regarded `Statistical Shape Analysis’ by the same authors. The new edition lays the foundations of landmark shape analysis, including geometrical concepts and statistical techniques, and extends to include analysis of curves, surfaces, images and other types of object data. Key definitions and concepts are discussed throughout, and the relative merits of different approaches are presented. The authors have included substantial new material on recent statistical developments and offer numerous examples throughout the text. Concepts are introduced in an accessible manner, while retaining sufficient detail for more specialist statisticians to appreciate the challenges and opportunities of this new field. Computer code has been included for instructional use, along with exercises to enable readers to implement the applications themselves in R and to follow the key ideas by hands-on analysis. Statistical Shape Analysis: with Applications in R will offer a valuable introduction to this fast-moving research area for statisticians and other applied scientists working in diverse areas, including archaeology, bioinformatics, biology, chemistry, computer science, medicine, morphometics and image analysis .

This follow-up to The Anthropology of Modern Human Teeth puts methods to use in interpreting human origins and affinities.

Computer Vision Systems is a collection of papers presented at the Workshop on Computer Vision Systems held at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Massachusetts, on June 1-3, 1977. Contributors discuss the breadth of problems that must be taken into account in the development of general computer vision systems. Topics covered include the application of system engineering techniques to the design of artificial intelligence systems; representation and segmentation of natural scenes; and pragmatic aspects of machine vision. Psychophysical measures of representation and interpretation are also considered. This monograph is divided into four sections: Issues and Research Strategies, Segmentation, Theory and Psychology, and Systems. The first chapter explores the problem of recovering the intrinsic characteristics of scenes from images, along with its implications for machine and human vision. The discussion then turns to special-purpose low-level vision systems that can be flexibly reconfigured as the need arises; design, development, and implementation of large systems from the human engineering point of view; and representation of visual information. The next section examines hierarchical relaxation for waveform parsing; the topology and semantics of intensity arrays; and visual images as spatial representations in active memory. The use of edge cues to recognize real-world objects is also analyzed. This text will be a useful resource for systems designers, computer engineers, and scientists as well as psychologists.