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Smart machine tools must be able to recognise the materials they interact with, in order to independently decide on what actions to be taken whenever needed. The purpose of this research is to offer a generic method to automate material identification and classification task utilising image processing and machine learning techniques so as to improve the cognitive capabilities of machine tools. A dataset of four material surfaces; Copper, Aluminium, Stainless Steel, and Bronze is generated and the RGB data are extracted. These colour channels are utilised as input features to train the machine learning algorithms. Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and other classification methods like Support Vector Machine (SVM), Decision Trees, and k-Nearest Neighbour are also used to classify material images based on the generated dataset. A unique generalised technique, based on CNN, has been proposed to accurately recognise and categorise round surfaced materials during machining. The accuracy achieved by the classifier has reached 100% during training and testing. Test images are used to confirm the proposed methodology's capability to distinguish between materials based on various illumination environments and camera positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slow motion is a popular video editing tool used to enhance short-form videos (e.g., reels, stories, GIFs), which are commonly found in media entertainment and marketing communications. This research shows that slow motion increases the virality (e.g., likes, votes, views) of short-form videos and boosts brand liking, choice, and willingness to pay. The effect occurs because slow motion enhances the hedonic component of the viewing experience via processing fluency. By documenting how the success of slow motion is subject to moderators, this work shows marketers, entertainment producers, and everyday people how to use slow motion more effectively. Across a large-scale field data set and six experiments, the authors highlight that slow motion is especially effective when applied to short-form videos that are inherently pleasant and that involve complex movements that are difficult to perceive at regular speed. However, even simple movements benefit from slow motion when content creators zoom in on subtle movements to increase complexity. Moreover, slow motion is more effective when viewers engage in less elaborate processing. Finally, the authors show that the perceived disfluency of fast-motion editing is effective at boosting brand evaluations when viewers desire excitement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scanning electron microscope (SEM) recordings of dynamic nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS) are difficult to analyze due to the noise caused by low frame rate, insufficient resolution, and blurriness induced by applied electric potentials. Here, we develop an image processing platform enhanced by the physics of the underlying system to track the motion of buckling NEMS structures in the presence of high noise levels. The algorithm is composed of an image filter, two data filters, and a nonlinear regression model, which utilizes the expected form of the physical solution. The method was applied to the recordings of a NEMS beam about 150 nm wide, undergoing intra- and inter-well post-buckling states with a transition rate of approximately 0.5 Hz. The algorithm can track the dynamical motion of the NEMS and capture the dependency of deflection amplitude on the compressive force on the beam. With the help of the proposed algorithm, the transition from inter-well to intra-well motion is clearly resolved for buckling NEMS imaged under SEM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct Gelfand–Shilov spaces of type S$$ \mathfrak{S} $$ and discuss the continuity and boundedness of the ridgelet transform. We then extend the analysis to generalized functions and explore its application to the space of tempered ultradistributions. Finally, we extend our findings to Gevrey functions of compact support. We also discuss an application of the ridgelet transform in image processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the current challenges in obtaining preliminary cost estimates for hair transplant procedures, which often involve time-consuming and frustrating communication between clinics and patients. Our goal is to streamline this process by integrating image processing and computer visualization techniques into an application tailored for individuals seeking hair transplantation services. Specifically, our focus is on Asian men experiencing hair loss in Stages 1 to 3. To achieve this, we have developed an image acquisition app, enhanced images as necessary using GFP-GAN, and performed image segmentation with BiSeNet. Additionally, we utilized MediaPipe to create new hairline projections for individuals with receding hairlines. This comprehensive approach allows us to calculate the hair recipient area and the required number of hair grafts accurately. Comparing our estimations to actual measurements, our method shows errors ranging from -15% to +25%, whereas estimations provided by hair clinics range from -35% to +18%. This highlights the superior accuracy of our individual-specific estimations compared to the general guidelines found on internet sources, enabling a more precise cost estimate for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surveillance and management of cargo fleets is a crucial objective of intelligent transportation systems. Load, especially overload, has a destructive effect on roads and bridges, and monitoring it can increase the life of road surface and its structure. For low-end hardware with lack of CPU power and no GPU support, this paper presents a rapid method to detect whether heavy vehicles have loads or not; then it proposes a fast method for classifying load types to distinguish soil and construction waste from other miscellaneous loads for heavy weight vehicles. This paper applies a method for classifying cargo types using image processing and texture image classification. This method extracts features for statistical analysis of texture images based on gray-level co-occurrence matrices and local binary patterns. The classification is carried out by support vector machine, k-nearest neighborhood, K-mean, artificial neural networks and random forest classifiers. A large number of positive and negative patterns have been used to train these classifiers. We compare the performance of proposed extracted features and classifiers. The simulation results demonstrate that soil and construction waste can be identified from other miscellaneous loads effective in real-time implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human body comprises various essential organs, including the lungs, which are responsible for the exchange of gases during respiration. However, the modern lifestyle and environmental pollution have contributed to the deterioration of lung health. To address this issue, The medical field has extensively investigated image processing methods for the identification and examination of lung diseases. In our research, we have employed a specific Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architecture known as You Look Only Once (YOLO) Version 6 for lung cancer detection. We have further optimized the CNN weights using Particle Swarm Optimization(PSO) with dual adaptation and dual validation. The proposed method involves preprocessing the LUNA 16 Challenge Dataset. The dataset used in this study, known as LUNA-16, comprises CT scans obtained from a cohort of 888 patients. In total, the dataset includes 1,181 individual scans, providing a substantial amount of data for analysis and evaluation. Our objective is to develop a model capable of classifying individuals as either having lung cancer or not. Remarkably, our model achieves an accuracy of 82.79% on the LUNA 16 Dataset, which is significant improvement from the previous used methodologies like ANN with 74% accuracy and YOLOv3 with an accuracy of 80.6% showcasing its effectiveness in predicting lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most challenging, interesting, and influential areas in image processing is image enhancement. Image enhancement techniques manipulate the existing image so as to ameliorate the quality as well as the visual appearance of the image to the viewer. Different types of image enhancement methods are utilized to tackle the complex problems of image visualization in medical imaging. Many imaging techniques are available, such as CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging, X-rays, and others. MRI is a kind of scan that uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to capture images of the internal structure of the patient's body. Medical imaging is an exceptionally normal and fundamental medium for clinical experts to conclude illnesses with respect to unseen regions inside the body. In many situations, these images suffer from low contrast and bad illumination. To overcome these problems of low contrast and poor illumination, this paper presents an enhancement scheme using a modified type-2 fuzzy set for MRI images. The results of the proposed scheme are shown in terms of both qualitative and quantitative analysis. All the experiments are carried out for a fixed value of a parameter β = 0.7 . For qualitative analysis, results are visualized with state-of-the-art methods and for quantitative analysis, PSNR, SSIM, AMBE, REC and PL are used. Qualitative and quantitative analysis bear witness to the fact that the performance of the proposed scheme is better in many places in comparison to other existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum computers can be used for efficient storage, processing and transmission of digital images. It involves exploitation of quantum properties to represent and process the images in a quantum computer. The first important step to process images in a quantum computer is the representation of images in quantum states. In this paper, we introduce two efficient implementation of algorithms to store the bit-planes of an image in quantum states, one for grayscale images and other for color images. The proposed implementations can be used to improve the effectiveness of image processing algorithms such as color complement operation, edge detection, image compression and so on. The proposed implementation has 10% less quantum cost and four times less time complexity compared to BRQI model for greyscale images, and 30% less quantum cost and four times less time complexity compared to QRCI model for color images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have achieved relevant results on several data sciences-related tasks, such as image processing and pattern recognition. However, CNNs contain an immense number of parameters which often leads to a huge redundancy, overfitting, and a significant amount of memory. In this paper, we aim to present a multi-objective optimization model for kernels redundancy reduction in convolutional neural networks. In fact, the suggested approach, named MOFM-CNN, allows to minimize redundant feature maps using a set of decision control variables. MOFM-CNN is composed of two objectives where in the first one, the decision variables are technically introduced in the cross-entropy function in order to evaluate the impact of each feature map on the CNNs training. In the second one, the control parameters are used to calculate the proportion of active feature maps, that is related to the complexity of the model. The resultant problem is manipulated and solved using non dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II). The performance of our proposal is demonstrated visually and numerically for both classification and features maps optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual observation and dermoscopic analysis are the most common methods of diagnosing skin cancer. In advanced stages, melanomas spread faster and are less responsive to treatment. Because different lesions in the skin appear similar to one another and sometimes errors in identification occur, the accuracy of diagnosis will decrease significantly when the amount of received images is large. However, the proposed methods for estimating skin lesions and their separation from melanoma have uncertainties and are not generalizable. This paper proposes an optimal decision tree (DT)-based approach, including fuzzy-ID3-pValue and Bayes learning algorithms, which overcomes these challenges. When classifying images, DTs employ a multi-stage procedure to partition the feature space, which enhances their ease of use, precision, and speed. Inference engines are used in fuzzy logic to derive logical deductions about knowledge, which facilitates learning DT and Bayesian learning. Taking advantage of the DT dependency structure, we present a novel fuzzy DT for extracting precise and collaborative fuzzy rules. Furthermore, to emphasize the cohesive nature of the laws, a weighted method is employed. Besides, the inference engine system is constructed through deductive and inductive inference engines. The proposed method is verified using the ISIC-2019 dataset as well as the PH2 images, both of which contain dermoscopic images of multiple lesions. The proposed method provides efficient results with 96% and 88% accuracy for ISIC-2019 and PH2 data, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curved ceramic materials possess corrosion-resistant, heat-resistant, and exceptional hardness, rendering them indispensable in many critical fields, including automotive, aerospace, biomedical, architectural, and artistic applications. The detection of defects in these materials is of paramount importance; but traditional inspection methods fall short due to their unique structural characteristics. Presently, the assessment of curved ceramics predominantly relies on manual inspection, which is fraught with subjective errors and inefficiencies. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the advancements in machine vision technology as applied to defect detection across various types of curved ceramic materials, including industrial, daily-use, and artistic ceramics. The paper highlights the key factors influencing the development of surface defect detection technology in curved ceramics. It summarises the advantages and disadvantages of traditional machine vision and deep learning approaches for defect detection in curved ceramics and analyzes their respective application scopes. Concluding with an examination of the technical challenges inherent in defect detection, the paper also outlines a prospective trajectory for the advancement of inspection technology in curved ceramic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of weld seams is a core factor affecting the performance of welded components, significantly impacting the safety and reliability of weldment structures. It holds considerable importance in quality control and cost management. Therefore, weld seam inspection is an indispensable part of industrial manufacturing and a key topic in non-destructive testing. This paper comprehensively summarises the main research results in weld seam feature extraction and defect identification based on systematic and detailed literature research. Firstly, the paper compares current mainstream non-destructive testing technologies, such as ultrasonic testing, radiographic testing, and infrared thermography, regarding detection principles, performance accuracy, and efficiency. It summarises their applicable scopes, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, and briefly introduces image processing-based methods for weld seam feature extraction. Secondly, a discussion and analysis of weld defect recognition are carried out, focusing on intelligent recognition methods based on deep learning, such as convolutional neural networks, generative adversarial networks, YOLO, etc. Finally, the outlook and future research trends are presented from various perspectives, such as real-time, adaptability, intelligence, etc. to provide a theoretical basis and technical support for welding quality control and structural safety assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leukemia is a type of blood tumour that occurs because of abnormal enhancement in WBCs (white blood cells) in the bone marrow of the human body. Blood-forming tissue cancer influences the lymphatic and bone marrow system. The early diagnosis and detection of leukaemia, i.e., the accurate difference of malignant leukocytes with little expense at the beginning of the disease, is a primary challenge in the disease analysis field. Despite the higher occurrence of leukemia, there is a lack of flow cytometry tools, and the procedures accessible at medical diagnostics centres are time-consuming. Distinct researchers have implemented computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) and machine learning (ML) methods for laboratory image analysis, aiming to manage the restrictions of late leukemia analysis. This study proposes a new Falcon optimization algorithm with deep convolutional neural network for Leukemia detection and classification (FOADCNN-LDC) technique. The main objective of the FOADCNN-LDC technique is to classify and recognize leukemia. The FOADCNN-LDC technique utilizes a median filtering (MF) based noise removal process to eradicate the image noise. Besides, the FOADCNN-LDC technique employs the ShuffleNetv2 model for the feature extraction process. Moreover, the detection and classification of the leukemia process are performed by utilizing the convolutional denoising autoencoder (CDAE) model. The FOA is implemented to select the hyperparameter of the CDAE model. The simulation process of the FOADCNN-LDC approach is performed on a benchmark medical dataset. The investigational analysis of the FOADCNN-LDC approach highlighted a superior accuracy value of 99.62% over existing techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent years have witnessed notable advancements in medical image segmentation through deep convolutional neural networks. However, a notable limitation lies in the local operation of convolution, which hinders the ability to fully exploit global semantic information. To overcome the challenges prevalent in medical image segmentation, the feature ensemble network with multi‐scale atrous transformer is proposed. At the core of the approach lies the multi‐scale contextual integration module, which is based on the multi‐scale atrous transformer and facilitates contextual integration of multi‐level features. To extract discriminative fine‐grained features of the target region, a hybrid attention mechanism that synergistically combines spatial and channel attention, thereby sharpening the model's focus on crucial target information within high‐level features, is incorporated. Additionally, the channel‐aware feature reconstruction module is introduced as an innovative component engineered to tackle feature similarity issues across different categories. This module performs feature reconstruction based on channel perception, effectively widening the feature gap between categories and enhancing the segmentation capability. It is worth mentioning that our approach surpasses the state‐of‐the‐art method using three benchmark datasets in medical image segmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image processing often requires filtering, which can be effectively performed by using B‐spline surface approximation. This article presents a fast method of approximating data in rectangular (image) form using such surfaces. The method considers dynamic changes of data by representing rows and columns in chordal parameterized form. To improve performance, after parametrization, lines are uniformly resampled using linear interpolation. It allows using the same basis functions with uniform parameterization for approximation of all processed lines. After approximation, reconstruction of original parameterization is required, but its computational complexity is also linear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the accuracy of granular image detection during image scaling, an image scaling algorithm combining the interpolation algorithm of protective features and Kalman filtering of neurons is proposed. Firstly, the interpolation algorithm of protective features is de‐designed according to the phenomenon of sudden change of edge grey values, and the difference and trend of grey values in horizontal and vertical directions are used to obtain the pre‐scaled image with maximum contrast. Then the grey value data input of the pre‐scaled image is introduced into the Kalman filter of neurons, and the filtering process is optimized by using the black‐box thinking of neurons, and the pre‐scaled image is smoothed. Finally, the scale transformation is implemented to obtain the final grey value to complete the final scaling, so that the image has both visual experience and features. Comparison with mainstream image scaling algorithms shows that the proposed algorithm can effectively overcome the degradation of granularity image detection accuracy due to image scaling, with point acutance value (PAV) improved by 10%–41%, and the granularity detection error caused by image scaling algorithms reduced from about 0.7% to about 0.1%, with a relative improvement of 85%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Head pose estimation is an especially challenging task due to the complexity nonlinear mapping from 2D feature space to 3D pose space. To address the above issue, this paper presents a novel and efficient head pose estimation framework based on particle swarm optimized contrastive learning and multimodal entangled graph convolution network. Firstly, a new network, the region and difference‐aware feature pyramid network (RD‐FPN), is proposed for 2D keypoints detection to alleviate the background interference and enhance the feature expressiveness. Then, particle swarm optimized contrastive learning is constructed to alternatively match 2D and 3D keypoints, which takes the multimodal keypoints matching accuracy as the optimization objective, while considering the similarity of cross‐modal positive and negative sample pairs from contrastive learning as a local contrastive constraint. Finally, multimodal entangled graph convolution network is designed to enhance the ability of establishing geometric relationships between keypoints and head pose angles based on second‐order bilinear attention, in which point‐edge attention is introduced to improve the representation of geometric features between multimodal keypoints. Compared with other methods, the average error of our method is reduced by 8.23%, indicating the accuracy, generalization, and efficiency of our method on the 300W‐LP, AFLW2000, BIWI datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformer possesses a broader perceptual scope, while the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) excels at capturing local information. In this paper, the authors propose the Multi‐Sclale Feature Aggregation Network (MSFA‐Net) for single‐image dehazing which is fused with the advantages of Transformer and CNN. Our MSFA‐Net is based on the encoder–decoder structure, and there are four main innovations. Firstly, the authors make some improvements to the original Swin Transformer to make it more effective for dehazing tasks, and the authors name it Spatial Information Aggregation Transformer (SIAT). The authors place the SIAT in both encoder and decoder of MSFA‐Net for feature extraction. The authors propose an upsampling module called Efficient Spatial Resolution Recovery (ESRR) which is placed in the decoder part. Compared to commonly used transposed convolutions, the authors' ESRR module has fewer computational cost. Considering that the haze distribution is always uneven and the information from each channel is different, the authors introduce the Dynamic Multi‐Attention (DMA) module to provide pixel‐wise weights and channel‐wise weights for input features. The authors place the DMA module between the encoder and decoder parts. As the network depth increases, the spatial structural information from the high‐resolution layer tends to degrade. To deal with the problem, the authors propose the Multi‐Scale Feature Fusion (MSFF) module to recover missing spatial structural information. The authors place the MSFF module in both the encoder and decoder parts. Extensive experimental results show that the authors' proposed dehazing network achieves state‐of‐the‐art dehazing performance with relatively low computational cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional dehazing algorithms have long been limited in their ability to remove fog effectively, especially in preserving details. This study proposes an improved dark channel prior dehazing algorithm designed to overcome the limitations of traditional algorithms by refining the transmission map and estimating atmospheric light intensity. The algorithm fully exploits the anti‐haze characteristics of the Gabor filter to extract multi‐directional texture features. By fusing these features to form a guidance map for guided filtering, it effectively reduces the blurring caused by guided filtering on the image edges, thereby producing a more accurate transmission map. Simultaneously, an enhanced atmospheric light successfully reduces interference from white objects in the image. The experiment phase utilized the publicly available RESIDE dataset for validation. The algorithm achieved a Peak Signal‐to‐Noise Ratio (PSNR) of 22.4 and a Structural Similarity Index (SSIM) of 0.88. These metrics indicate the algorithm's superior dehazing capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic segmentation of renal tumours during renal cell carcinoma surgery can help doctors accurately locate the tumour region, protect the tissues and organs around the kidneys, enhance surgical efficiency, and reduce the possibility of leakage and misdiagnosis. However, since general polyp endoscopic image segmentation models have many problems when facing the task of renal tumour segmentation, there needs to be more research on the segmentation of endoscopic images of renal tumours. This paper proposes a multi‐scale dynamic segmentation kernel network for endoscopic image segmentation of kidney tumours. First, a spatial receptive field module is proposed to augment the feature information and improve the performance of the whole network. Second, an enhanced cross‐attention module is offered to attenuate the effect of a high‐similarity segmentation background. Finally, a multi‐scale dynamic segmentation kernel module is introduced to gradually refine the segmentation results from small to large sizes to obtain more accurate tumour boundaries. Extensive experiments on the established kidney tumour endoscopic dataset and publicly available endoscopic datasets show that this method exhibits enhanced performance and generalization capabilities compared to existing techniques. On this renal tumour dataset, MDSK‐Net achieved excellent results of 94.1% and 90.1% on mDice and mIoU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metaheuristic is one of the techniques to improve the security of image encryption. However, existing metaheuristic image cryptosystems based on metaheuristic may have convergence difficulties during the optimization process, which cause insecurity and slow convergence. Besides, the time cost of the parallel execution model applied to metaheuristic image cryptosystems is not low enough. Therefore, a parallel many‐objective optimized key generation framework is proposed. Firstly, if four or more security indicators of cryptosystem, which are the results of security test, need to be optimized, the many‐objective optimization algorithm is employed to the proposed framework. With method adjusts the chaotic system parameters as the optimization key, which effectively avoid the convergence difficulty of the encryption key. Secondly, a master‐slave parallel model is improved to metaheuristic encryption. The model allocates the most time‐consuming fitness calculation work to slave nodes, which makes the modified model more reasonable and thus reduces the encryption time. To evaluate the performance of the proposed framework, a specific encryption scheme is constructed, that utilizes a 2D quadric map and many‐objective optimization algorithm based on dominance and decomposition (MOEA/DD) to optimize five security indicators. Experimental results reveal that this scheme has good security performances and less parallel encryption time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Monkeypox is a viral disease caused by the monkeypox virus (MPV). A surge in monkeypox infection has been reported since early May 2022, and the outbreak has been classified as a global health emergency as the situation continues to worsen. Early and accurate detection of the disease is required to control its spread. Machine learning methods offer fast and accurate detection of COVID-19 from chest X-rays, and chest computed tomography (CT) images. Likewise, computer vision techniques can automatically detect monkeypoxes from digital images, videos, and other inputs. Objectives: In this paper, we propose an automated monkeypox detection model as the first step toward controlling its global spread. Materials and method: A new dataset comprising 910 open-source images classified into five categories (healthy, monkeypox, chickenpox, smallpox, and zoster zona) was created. A new deep feature engineering architecture was proposed, which contained the following components: (i) multiple nested patch division, (ii) deep feature extraction, (iii) multiple feature selection by deploying neighborhood component analysis (NCA), Chi2, and ReliefF selectors, (iv) classification using SVM with 10-fold cross-validation, (v) voted results generation by deploying iterative hard majority voting (IHMV) and (vi) selection of the best vector by a greedy algorithm. Results: Our proposal attained a 91.87% classification accuracy on the collected dataset. This is the best result of our presented framework, which was automatically selected from 70 generated results. Conclusions: The computed classification results and findings demonstrated that monkeypox could be successfully detected using our proposed automated model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new transistor-less field-coupled nanocomputing (FCN) method for ultra-scale “nanochip” integration is called quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA). Electrostatic repulsion between electrons and the electron tunneling process in quantum dots is employed in QCA to depict digital circuitry. QCA technology is able to achieve higher clock speed, lower occupied chip area, and more energy efficiency than traditional complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Irreversible majority gates are commonly utilized as the main building blocks in the development of QCA circuits. In order to create highly energy-efficient QCA circuits, some research has recently presented digital image processing design strategies that use majority gates as the primary building block. Image processing, which encompasses picture analysis, enhancement, and correction, is used to extract information from images and improve their quality. Among the primary methods for processing images are picture enhancement, restoration, compression, object recognition, and machine vision applications. However, morphological procedures such as dilation and erosion constitute the fundamental component of image processing and are widely applied in practical applications. In this study, QCA-optimized nanostructures are presented for applications in mathematical morphology, serving as erosion and dilation operators. The completed circuit comprises 33 cells and exhibits a temporal delay of approximately 0.75 during each clock cycle. A comparison with the best equivalent nano-architecture demonstrates a significant improvement in cell performance, scalability, and latency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical synapses offer a promising solution to the high energy consumption of von Neumann architectures. Despite significant research, existing photoconductivity modulation methods are typically unidirectional, and inhibitory behavior still depends on electrical stimulation. To address this, a two‐terminal planar fully optically modulated synapse device based on a ZnAlSnO/SnS heterostructure, demonstrating bidirectional optical response is presented. This device exhibits an excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC) when exposed to 370 nm UV light and generates an inhibitory postsynaptic current (IPSC) under 630 nm red light. Continuous potentiation and depression stimuli reveals the stability of fully optically modulated artificial synapses. Leveraging its fully optically modulated conductance, a three‐layer artificial neural network is implemented for handwritten digit and clothing recognition, achieving accuracies of 91.12% and 78.22%, respectively. Additionally, based on its unique electrical response to UV light pulse, the development process of the Polaroid camera is well simulated. This work not only enriches the content of optical synapses, but also contributes to advancements in artificial intelligence, brain‐like computing, and image‐processing technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Understanding plastic litter in cities is crucial to preventing marine pollution. • Citizen science is suitable for long-term, extensive data collection. • Despite human error, ∼30 % of data could be used to visualize and quantify litter. • Litter in cities was studied using Pirika and deep learning-based image processing. • Trained models exhibited high precision and recall in classifying litter types. Cities are a major source of litter pollution. Determination of the abundance and composition of plastic litter in cities is imperative for effective pollution management, environmental protection, and sustainable urban development. Therefore, here, a multidisciplinary approach to quantify and classify the abundance of litter in urban environments is proposed. In the present study, litter data collection was integrated via the Pirika smartphone application and conducted image analysis based on deep learning. Pirika was launched in May 2018 and, to date, has collected approximately one million images. Visual classification revealed that the most common types of litter were cans, plastic bags, plastic bottles, cigarette butts, cigarette boxes, and sanitary masks, in that order. The top six categories accounted for approximately 80 % of the total, whereas the top three categories accounted for more than 60 % of the total imaged litter. A deep-learning image processing algorithm was developed to automatically identify the top six litter categories. Both precision and recall derived from the model were higher than 75 %, enabling proper litter categorization. The quantity of litter derived from automated image processing was also plotted on a map using location data acquired concurrently with the images by the smartphone application. Conclusively, this study demonstrates that citizen science supported by smartphone applications and deep learning-based image processing can enable the visualization, quantification, and characterization of street litter in cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anomaly detection and localization become necessary since humans are unable to spot visual frauds. Since it differs from the normal representation of shapes, colors, textures, size, and location, it does not have the potential to be employed in such practical applications. Hence, the automatic anomaly detection and localization framework is suggested for supporting situations like industrial systems, healthcare systems and so on. The detection and localization are the most intriguing and challenging concerns in image processing. In general, anomalies can manifest themselves in diverse ways. Detection is the process of providing information about whether an image contains modifications or not. On the other hand, localization is defined as locating the anomalies in images. Several traditional models have been deployed, but they still lack such constraints to evade performance enhancement. To sort out this issue, a novel adaptive method is recommended for anomaly detection and localization in images. Initially, the source images are acquired from standard public data sources. Once the required images are collected, such abnormal or anomalous activities are detected by adopting the new method known as Adaptive Multiscale Attention-based DenseNet (AMA-DeNet), where the hyperparameters are tuned by a hybrid algorithm known as the Hybrid Chimp Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm (HCGOA). Subsequently, the final stage is localizing the anomalies in the detected images. This is to be accomplished by using the Cascaded Variational Autoencoder (CVA), in which parameters are optimally chosen by HCGOA. After implementation, the experimental results are computed across diverse validating measures. Hence, the extensive results elucidate that the recommended model contains the potential to detect the abnormalities in the images accurately, thereby enhancing the efficiency of the new system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban public safety management relies heavily on video surveillance systems, which provide crucial visual data for resolving a wide range of incidents and controlling unlawful activities. Traditional methods for target detection predominantly employ a two-stage approach, focusing on precision in identifying objects such as pedestrians and vehicles. These objects, typically sparse in large-scale, lower-quality surveillance footage, induce considerable redundant computation during the initial processing stage. This redundancy constrains real-time detection capabilities and escalates processing costs. Furthermore, transmitting raw images and videos laden with superfluous information to centralized back-end systems significantly burdens network communications and fails to capitalize on the computational resources available at diverse surveillance nodes. This study introduces DiffRank, a novel preprocessing method for fixed-angle video imagery in urban surveillance. The method strategically generates candidate regions during preprocessing, thereby reducing redundant object detection and improving the efficiency of the detection algorithm. Drawing upon change detection principles, a background feature learning approach utilizing shallow features has been developed. This approach prioritizes learning the characteristics of fixed-area backgrounds over direct background identification. As a result, alterations in ROI are efficiently discerned using computationally efficient shallow features, markedly accelerating the generation of proposed Regions of Interest (ROIs) and diminishing the computational demands for subsequent object detection and classification. Comparative analysis on various public and private datasets illustrates that DiffRank, while maintaining high accuracy, substantially outperforms existing baselines in terms of speed, particularly with larger image sizes (e.g., an improvement exceeding 300 % at 1920×1080 resolution). Moreover, the method demonstrates enhanced robustness compared to baseline methods, efficiently disregarding static targets like mannequins in display windows. The advancements in candidate area preprocessing enable a balanced approach between detection accuracy and overall detection speed, making the algorithm highly applicable for real-time on-site analysis in edge computing scenarios and cloud-edge collaborative computing environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arabidopsis thaliana sepals are excellent models for analyzing growth of entire organs due to their relatively small size, which can be captured at a cellular resolution under a confocal microscope. To investigate how differential growth of connected cell layers generate unique organ morphologies, it is necessary to live-image deep into the tissue. However, imaging deep cell layers of the sepal (or plant tissues in general) is practically challenging. Image processing is also difficult due to the low signal-to-noise ratio of the deeper tissue layers, an issue mainly associated with live imaging datasets. Addressing some of these challenges, we provide an optimized methodology for live imaging sepals, and subsequent image processing. For live imaging early-stage sepals, we found that the use of a bright fluorescent membrane marker, coupled with increased laser intensity and an enhanced Z- resolution produces high-quality images suitable for downstream image processing. Our optimized parameters allowed us to image the bottommost cell layer of the sepal (inner epidermal layer) without compromising viability. We used a 'voxel removal' technique to visualize the inner epidermal layer in MorphoGraphX image processing software. We also describe the MorphoGraphX parameters for creating a 2.5D mesh surface for the inner epidermis. Our parameters allow for the segmentation and parent tracking of individual cells through multiple time points, despite the weak signal of the inner epidermal cells. While we have used sepals to illustrate our approach, the methodology will be useful for researchers intending to live-image and track growth of deeper cell layers in 2.5D for any plant tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fabric pilling can significantly affect the usability and appearance of fabrics; making the evaluation of pilling grades a crucial aspect of textile quality inspection. Currently, manual visual inspection is the mainstream strategy in the industry for assessing pilling, but this method suffers from low efficiency and inconsistent accuracy. Therefore, there is a need for a more precise and efficient method to evaluate textile pilling grades. In this paper, we propose an objective system for assessing fabric pilling grades using a deep learning model in conjunction with a gradient boosting decision tree classification algorithm. The system comprises a multi-light source fabric image acquisition setup, an Attention-enhanced UNet model, and a gradient boosting decision tree classifier. The process begins with capturing fabric images, which are then segmented using the Attention-enhanced UNet model. This model effectively extracts pilling features, including the number of pills, the pilling area, and the pilling coverage ratio. Our experimental results show that this segmentation method outperforms traditional filtering and edge detection algorithms in terms of efficiency. The attention mechanism integrated into the UNet model significantly enhances the segmentation performance, particularly for fabric pilling. By combining the extracted features as input for the fabric evaluation algorithm, our proposed method achieves an impressive classification accuracy of 98.47% in objectively evaluating fabric pilling grades. This approach offers a substantial improvement in both the accuracy and efficiency of fabric pilling grade assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flame temperature field measurement has always been a key topic in combustion research, which is of great significance for combustion state diagnosis and fuel combustion optimization. Deep learning technology exploits its superior nonlinear ability to rapidly reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) temperature field of flames from flame light-field images. However, existing algorithms have problems with complex networks, poor noise resistance and low reconstruction accuracy. This paper proposes a lightweight 3D flame temperature field reconstruction algorithm based on an improved MobileNet that combines residuals and spatial attention mechanisms. This method basically achieves a balance between low complexity and high accuracy and has good noise resistance performance. Simulation results show that the average relative error of temperature field reconstruction on the noise-free unimodal flame dataset is only 0.022%, and its computational complexity is only one-tenth of the existing CNN. The noise simulation experiment shows that this method has good noise resistance performance. The maximum relative error and the average relative error at Gaussian white noise standard deviation σ = 0.15 are only 2.91% and 0.27%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern bioimaging core facilities at research institutions are essential for managing and maintaining high‐end instruments, providing training and support for researchers in experimental design, image acquisition and data analysis. An important task for these facilities is the professional management of complex multidimensional bioimaging data, which are often produced in large quantity and very different file formats. This article details the process that led to successfully implementing the OME Remote Objects system (OMERO) for bioimage‐specific research data management (RDM) at the Core Facility Cellular Imaging (CFCI) at the Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden). Ensuring compliance with the FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable) principles, we outline here the challenges that we faced in adapting data handling and storage to a new RDM system. These challenges included the introduction of a standardised group‐specific naming convention, metadata curation with tagging and Key–Value pairs, and integration of existing image processing workflows. By sharing our experiences, this article aims to provide insights and recommendations for both individual researchers and educational institutions intending to implement OMERO as a management system for bioimaging data. We showcase how tailored decisions and structured approaches lead to successful outcomes in RDM practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the image analysis of the hydrophobic flocculation process of coal particles, the recognition accuracy of floc characteristic parameters is affected by bubbles, floc superposition, and floc morphology. An image processing method was studied and designed based on the PyCharm Community platform for clarity recognition and floc segmentation of coal particle floc characteristics. Firstly, the critical value of image clarity was determined to be 1.31 by using the Laplace convolution accounting method after the average gray level correction, and the fuzzy flocs whose clarity was less than the critical value were eliminated. Then, by comparing the segmentation effect of the threshold, edge, and region segmentation algorithm on the flocs, the histogram bimodal method was determined to be the best image processing segmentation method for fine coal floc collection. The fractal theory was used to verify the effect of image processing. The results showed that the surface fractal dimension of the floc image after deblurring and segmentation was maintained near 2.05, indicating that the processed image can obtain more stable and reliable floc characteristic parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces a novel approach that addresses the limitations of existing methods by integrating 2D image processing with 3D point cloud analysis, enhanced by interpretable neural networks. Unlike traditional methods that rely on either 2D or 3D data alone, our approach leverages the complementary strengths of both data types to improve detection accuracy in environments adversely affected by welding spatter and smoke. Our system employs an improved Faster R-CNN model with a ResNet50 backbone for 2D image analysis, coupled with an innovative orthogonal plane intersection line extraction algorithm for 3D point cloud processing. By incorporating explainable components such as visualizable feature maps and a transparent region proposal network, we address the "black box" issue common in deep learning models.This architecture enables a more transparent decision-making process, providing technicians with necessary insights to understand and trust the system's outputs. The Faster-RCNN structure is designed to break down the object detection process into distinct, understandable steps, from initial feature extraction to final bounding box refinement. This fusion of 2D-3D data analysis and interpretability not only improves detection performance but also sets a new standard for transparency and reliability in automated welding systems, facilitating wider adoption in industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sandwich structures are known for their exceptional mechanical properties and widespread applications. This study integrates additive manufacturing (AM) technology, experiments, theoretical equations, and numerical simulations to investigate a novel lightweight sandwich structure with a core based on Triply Periodic Minimal Surfaces (TPMS). The core incorporates Primitive, Neovius, and Diamond structures and is designed and manufactured using AM. Three‐point bending experiments are conducted to assess bending performance, failure modes, and energy absorption capability. A numerical model is established to analyze behavior under bending loads, validated through comparison with theoretical equations and numerical simulations, focusing on stress concentration areas. A parametric study investigates the effects of skin material, thickness, and TPMS core relative density on bending performance and energy absorption capacity. Furthermore, a functionally graded core layer with a gradient change in relative density is designed to study its influence on bending performance. The parameters of the core have a decisive impact on TPMS sandwich panel performance. This study demonstrates that sandwich structures with TPMS cores can be designed to possess desirable bending performance and energy absorption capacity, providing insights for future engineering applications. Highlights: A novel TPMS sandwich structure is fabricated using 3D printing technology.The gradient relative density core is introduced.The bending performance and failure behavior of the structure are evaluated.A parametric study was conducted to investigate the effects on performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning applications have witnessed significant advancements across diverse domains, revolutionizing tasks such as image recognition, disease classification, cancer detection, natural language processing, and autonomous decision-making. However, striking a balance between performance and cost remains a fundamental challenge. Performance, which encompasses accuracy, efficiency, and effectiveness, is crucial for the real-world applicability of deep learning models. Attaining high performance often involves using resource-intensive models with intricate architectures, extensive datasets, and hyperparameter tuning. While these factors lead to improved performance, they also result in increased costs, including computational resources, time, and energy consumption. This research addresses this challenge by proposing a novel low-cost deep learning model based on Sharpened Cosine Similarity (LC-SCS) for breast cancer classification using thermal images. In our study on a DMR-IR dataset, we also utilized pre-trained models: ResNet-101, VGG-16, Inception-V3, ResNet-50, VGG-19, and Xception. The proposed LC-SCS model achieved an impressive accuracy of 94%, trailing just 4% behind the leading VGG-19 model, while maintaining a low computational cost. It achieved recall and precision scores of 0.95 each, with an F1-score of 0.94. The LC-SCS model excels in computational efficiency, demanding only 1.85 GFLOPs and 1.2 million parameters. The memory requirement is minimal at 865.35 MB, and it exhibits a latency of just 0.003 s. Additionally, the CPU execution time for prediction is 3.59 s. Comparatively, the best-performing pre-trained VGG-19 model achieved 98% accuracy but incurred significantly higher costs. The proposed LC-SCS model showcases a remarkable 298.63 times reduction in GFLOPs, a 116.31 times reduction in total parameters, a 4.57 times reduction in memory requirements for model weights, a 5 times reduction in latency, and a 3.33 times reduction in CPU execution time for prediction, thus making it as an exceptionally resource-efficient model, particularly in scenarios with limited computational resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic skin lesion subtyping is a crucial step for diagnosing and treating skin cancer and acts as a first level diagnostic aid for medical experts. Although, in general, deep learning is very effective in image processing tasks, there are notable areas of the processing pipeline in the dermoscopic image regime that can benefit from refinement. Our work identifies two such areas for improvement. First, most benchmark dermoscopic datasets for skin cancers and lesions are highly imbalanced due to the relative rarity and commonality in the occurrence of specific lesion types. Deep learning methods tend to exhibit biased performance in favor of the majority classes with such datasets, leading to poor generalization. Second, dermoscopic images can be associated with irrelevant information in the form of skin color, hair, veins, etc.; hence, limiting the information available to a neural network by retaining only relevant portions of an input image has been successful in prompting the network towards learning task-relevant features and thereby improving its performance. Hence, this research work augments the skin lesion characterization pipeline in the following ways. First, it balances the dataset to overcome sample size biases. Two balancing methods, synthetic minority oversampling TEchnique (SMOTE) and Reweighting, are applied, compared, and analyzed. Second, a lesion segmentation stage is introduced before classification, in addition to a preprocessing stage, to retain only the region of interest. A baseline segmentation approach based on Bi-Directional ConvLSTM U-Net is improved using conditional adversarial training for enhanced segmentation performance. Finally, the classification stage is implemented using EfficientNets, where the B2 variant is used to benchmark and choose between the balancing and segmentation techniques, and the architecture is then scaled through to B7 to analyze the performance boost in lesion classification. From these experiments, we find that the pipeline that balances using SMOTE and uses the adversarially trained segmentation network achieves the best baseline performance of 91% classification accuracy with EfficientNet B2. Based on the scaling experiments, we find that optimal performance is reached with the B6 architecture that classifies with a 97% accuracy. Furthermore, the proposed pipeline for lesion characterization outperforms the state of the art performance on the ISIC dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The image object recognition and detection technology are widely used in many scenarios. In recent years, big data has become increasingly abundant, and big data-driven artificial intelligence models have attracted more and more attention. Evolutionary computation has also provided a powerful driving force for the optimization and improvement of deep learning models. In this paper, we propose an image object detection method based on self-supervised and data-driven learning. Differ from other methods, our approach stands out due to its innovative use of multispectral data fusion and evolutionary computation for model optimization. Specifically, our method uniquely combines visible light images and infrared images to detect and identify image targets. Firstly, we utilize a self-supervised learning method and the AutoEncoder model to perform high-dimensional feature extraction on the two types of images. Secondly, we fuse the extracted features from the visible light and infrared images to detect and identify objects. Thirdly, we introduce a model parameter optimization method using evolutionary learning algorithms to enhance model performance. Validation on public datasets shows that our method achieves comparable or superior performance to existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep neural networks (DNNs) are popular in image processing but are vulnerable to adversarial attacks, which makes their deployment in security-sensitive systems risky. Adversarial attacks reduce the performance of DNNs by generating adversarial examples (AEs). In this paper, we propose a novel method called Trans-IFFT-FGSM (Transformer Inverse Finite Fourier Transform Fast Gradient Sign Method) to generate adversarial examples. Unlike others, we apply multiple steps, adding imperceptible perturbation and saving input noise information to create strong AEs, while emphasizing simplicity, efficiency, robustness through iterations, and analytical precision on specific models. We evaluate and compare perturbation generated by Trans-IFFT-FGSM and other attack methods, including FGSM, PGD, DeepFool, and C &W on ImageNet and MNIST, and evaluation results suggest that Trans-IFFT-FGSM achieves a high attack success rate (ASR) and attack accuracy. In addition, we compare Trans-IFFT-FGSM and other attack methods under the existence of a defense method, which denoises the AEs generated by these methods, and the evaluation results also suggest Trans-IFFT-FGSM outperforms other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The field of computer vision has witnessed significant interest in the area of salient object recognition. The utilization of this technology becomes advantageous in various applications, such as image segmentation, image attention retargeting, image cropping, and image understanding. The primary challenges encountered by underwater images pertain to diminished contrast, distorted colors, and an overall suboptimal visual appearance. The present study introduces an innovative and resilient method for detecting saliency in underwater photos. The RGB picture input undergoes enhancement and is subsequently subjected to gradient domain filtration. The filtered image is subjected to a pyramid decomposition. The computation of saliency is performed on three distinct scales using a process consisting of two parallel phases. In the first stage, saliency is calculated by employing cellular automata at various scales. Initially, the filtered image is subjected to a decomposition process into superpixels. Subsequently, the k-means clustering technique is employed to calculate matrices that represent color dissimilarity and geodesic distance. The application of cellular automata follows the fusion of the matrices. The map undergoes additional optimization and filtering processes in order to achieve saliency at a specific scale. The computation of a main saliency map involves the process of scale integration. In the second stage, the computation of saliency is achieved by applying a homomorphic filter to each scale. The natural logarithm of the filtered image is computed. The spatial domain of the image undergoes a transformation to the frequency domain. The Butterworth high-pass filter is utilized. The frequency domain of the image is subsequently converted back to its spatial domain. The computation of the inverse logarithm of the image is performed. The guided filter is employed to acquire saliency on a specific scale. The computation of the secondary saliency map involves the process of scale integration. The final output is obtained by applying multiplicative fusion to both primary and secondary saliency maps. Utilizing cutting-edge methodologies, a thorough evaluation that includes both qualitative and quantitative analyses evaluates the effectiveness of the suggested strategy. In comparison to alternative state-of-the-art methodologies, the findings indicate that the suggested methodology exhibits high levels of precision and dependability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public safety is a critical concern, typically addressed through security checks at entrances of public places, involving trained officers or X-ray scanning machines to detect prohibited items. However, many places like hospitals, schools, and event centres lack such resources, risking security breaches. Even with X-ray scanners or manual checks, gaps can be exploited by individuals with malicious intent, posing significant security risks. Additionally, traditional methods, relying on manual inspections and conventional image processing techniques, are often inefficient and prone to high error rates. To mitigate these risks, we propose a real-time detection model – EnhanceNet using a customized Scale-Enhanced Pooling Network (SEP-Net) integrated into the YOLOv4. The innovative SEP-Net enhances feature representation and localization accuracy, significantly contributing to the model’s efficacy in detecting prohibited items. We annotated a custom dataset of nine classes and evaluated our models using different input sizes (608 and 416). The 608 input size achieved a mean Average Precision (mAP) of 74.10% with a detection speed of 22.3 Frames per Second (FPS). The 416 input size showed superior performance, achieving a mAP of 76.75% and a detection speed of 27.1 FPS. These demonstrate that our models are accurate and efficient, making them suitable for real-time applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of image processing, common noise types include Gaussian noise, salt and pepper noise, speckle noise, uniform noise and pulse noise. Different types of noise require different denoising algorithms and techniques to maintain image quality and fidelity. Traditional image denoising methods not only remove image noise, but also result in the detail loss in the image. It cannot guarantee the clean removal of noise information while preserving the true signal of the image. To address the aforementioned issues, an image denoising method combining an improved threshold function and wavelet transform is proposed in the experiment. Unlike traditional threshold functions, the improved threshold function is a continuous function that can avoid the pseudo Gibbs effect after image denoising and improve image quality. During the process, the output image of the finite ridge wave transform is first combined with the wavelet transform to improve the denoising performance. Then, an improved threshold function is introduced to enhance the quality of the reconstructed image. In addition, to evaluate the performance of different algorithms, different densities of Gaussian noise are added to Lena images of black, white, and color in the experiment. The results showed that when adding 0.010.01 variance Gaussian noise to black and white images, the peak signal-to-noise ratio of the research method increased by 2.58dB in a positive direction. The mean square error decreased by 0.10dB. When using the algorithm for denoising, the research method had a minimum denoising time of only 13ms, which saved 9ms and 3ms compared to the hard threshold algorithm (Hard TA) and soft threshold algorithm (Soft TA), respectively. The research method exhibited higher stability, with an average similarity error fluctuating within 0.89%. The above results indicate that the research method has smaller errors and better system stability in image denoising. It can be applied in the field of digital image denoising, which can effectively promote the positive development of image denoising technology to a certain extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stripe noise is a prevalent issue in infrared imaging systems, characterized by its distinctive directional features, which often appear as vertical lines across the image. This type of noise can significantly degrade the quality of the captured images, making it crucial to address and mitigate its effects. This paper presents an effective strategy to tackle this problem by transforming it from a 2D image issue into a 1D signal problem, enabling efficient resolution of stripes in infrared images. By understanding the characteristics of stripe noise, the proposed algorithm effectively solves the problem by first computing the column average of the noisy image, extracting stripe components from this one-dimensional signal, and effectively removing the stripes without blurring image details. This approach has been tested on numerous images with varying noise levels, demonstrating exceptional denoising performance compared to state-of-the-art methods. The results show marked improvements in visual quality, especially around edges and smooth areas, without requiring complex algorithms or iterative processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Paediatric forearm fractures are a prevalent reason for medical consultation, often requiring diagnostic X-rays that present a risk due to ionising radiation, especially concerning given the sensitivity of children's tissues. This paper explores the efficacy of ultrasound imaging, particularly through the development of the SonoBox system, as a safer, non-ionising alternative. With emerging evidence supporting ultrasound as a viable method for fracture assessment, innovations like SonoBox will become increasingly important. Materials and methods: In our project, we want to advance ultrasound-based, contact-free, and automated cross-sectional imaging for diagnosing paediatric forearm fractures. To this end, we are building a technical platform that navigates a commercially available ultrasound probe around the extremity within a water-filled tank, utilising intelligent robot control and image processing methods to generate a comprehensive ultrasound tomogram. Safety and hygiene considerations, gender and diversity relevance, and the potential reduction of radiation exposure and examination pain are pivotal aspects of this endeavour. Results: Preliminary experiments have demonstrated the feasibility of rapidly generating ultrasound tomographies in a water bath, overcoming challenges such as water turbulence during probe movement. The SonoBox prototype has shown promising results in transmitting position data for ultrasound imaging, indicating potential for autonomous, accurate, and potentially painless fracture diagnosis. The project outlines further goals, including the construction of prototypes, validation through patient studies, and development of a hygiene concept for clinical application. Conclusion: The SonoBox project represents a significant step forward in paediatric fracture diagnostics, offering a safer, more comfortable alternative to traditional X-ray imaging. By automating the imaging process and removing the need for direct contact, SonoBox has the potential to improve clinical efficiency, reduce patient discomfort, and broaden the scope of ultrasound applications. Further research and development will focus on validating its effectiveness in clinical settings and exploring its utility in other medical and veterinary applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black ice is responsible for dangerous road-related incidents that can cause collisions and harm vehicle drivers and pedestrians. Visual examination and weather forecasts are two standard traditional methods for detecting black ice on roads, but they are often inaccurate and may not deliver the vehicle driver with up-to-date information on road conditions. The evolution of Industry 4.0 enabling technologies such as wireless sensor network (WSN), Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and machine learning (ML) has been capable of detecting events in real time. This study aims to analyse the integration of the WSN, IoT, ML, and image processing for black ice detection. The qualitative research method is followed in this study, where the problems of black ice detection are studied. Following this, the role of Industry 4.0 enabling technologies is analyzed in detail for black ice detection. According to the study, we can detect black ice using different methods, but some methods need to be refined if we talk about the prediction. By merging different technologies, we can improve the overall architecture and create an algorithm that works with images and physical variables like temperature, humidity, due point, and road temperature, which were responsible for black ice formation, and predict the chances of black ice formation by training the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractIn this experimental study, we delve into the performance of an active mixer that utilizes liquid metal droplets. Our mixer configuration follows an innovative Y-type design, where two liquid metal-based pumping mechanisms operate within the minichannel inlet branches. By applying alternating current voltage to both sides of the liquid metal, we induce a surface tension gradient, propelling the fluid from the reservoirs toward the minichannel. Notably, the two entering liquids are distinctly colored, allowing us to quantify mixing using a Mixing Index (MI) definition and image processing techniques. Our investigation centers on four key variables governing mixer performance: applied voltage, liquid metal droplet diameter, input angle between the branches, and minichannel width. Given the experimental nature of our research, we employ a central composite design method within the framework of design of experiments (DoE). From our obtained experimental results, we establish correlations between MI and the other variables. Our examination of the four mentioned parameters revealed that liquid metal droplet diameter exerts the most significant influence on the mixing index. Following this, in descending order of impact, we find applied voltage, input angle, and channel width. In the optimal dimensions of our mixer, we achieve a remarkable maximum MI of 0.867. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to evaluate the applicability of the high-resolution WaveFront Phase Imaging Sensor (WFPI) in eyes with Fuchs' Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy (FECD) through qualitative and quantitative analysis using a custom-designed Automatic Guttae Detection Method (AGDM). The ocular phase was measured using the t · eyede aberrometer and then was processed to obtain its High-Pass Filter Map (HPFM). The subjects were pathological and healthy patients from the Fundación Jiménez-Díaz Hospital (Madrid, Spain). The AGDM was developed and applied in pupils with 3 and 5 mm of diameter. A set of metrics were extracted and evaluated like the Root-Mean-Square error (RMS), Number of guttae, Guttae Area, and Area of Delaunay Triangulation (DT). Finally, a Support Vector Machine (SVM) model was trained to classify between pathological and healthy eyes. Quantitatively, the HPFM reveals a dark spots pattern according to the ophthalmologist's description of the slit-lamp examination of guttae distribution. There were significant statistical differences in all the metrics when FECD and Healthy groups were compared using the same pupil size; but comparing both pupil sizes for the same group there were significant differences in most of the variables. This sensor is a value tool to objectively diagnose and monitor this pathology through wavefront phase changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]