Search

Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) is a metal arc welding additive process that allows the production of large parts. Managing the quality of produced parts is a key challenge to the adoption of this technology in the industry. A particular case of this is the production of aluminum thin walls and the management of their thicknesses. Literature supports that the use of a near-infrared camera is a good way to monitor the meltpool shape to predict the manufactured thickness. Nevertheless, the post-processing applied to the image has a big influence on the accuracy of the measure. That is why, this article proposes a method to qualify image post-processing for thin wall thickness prediction from near-infrared camera images of aluminum WAAM process. A dataset from the literature is used to evaluate the accuracy of different post-processes. First, a method is proposed to evaluate the accuracy of a given post-process. Secondly, two types of post-processing are presented: post-processing based on conventional image processing and post-processing based on neural networks. Their accuracy is evaluated with the proposed method. The article concludes that the proposed method is adapted to qualify post-processes and that the proposed post-processing based on neural networks gives significant results in terms of accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To overcome the challenges in underwater object detection across diverse marine environments—marked by intricate lighting, small object presence, and camouflage—we propose an innovative solution inspired by the human retina's structure. This approach integrates a cone-rod cell module to counteract complex lighting effects and introduces a reparameterized multiscale module for precise small object feature extraction. Moreover, we employ the Wise Intersection Over Union (WIOU) technique to enhance camouflage detection. Our methodology simulates the human eye's cone and rod cells' brightness and color perception using varying sizes of deep and ordinary convolutional kernels. We further augment the network's learning capability and maintain model lightness through structural reparameterization, incorporating multi-branching and multiscale modules. By substituting the Complete Intersection Over Union (CIOU) with WIOU, we increase penalties for low-quality samples, mitigating the effect of camouflaged information on detection. Our model achieved a MAP_0.75 of 72.5% on the Real-World Underwater Object Detection (RUOD) dataset, surpassing the leading YOLOv8s model by 5.8%. Additionally, the model's FLOPs and parameters amount to only 10.62 M and 4.62B, respectively, which are lower than most benchmark models. The experimental outcomes affirm our design's efficacy in addressing underwater object detection's various disturbances, offering valuable technical insights for related oceanic image processing challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Countersink inspection is crucial in various automated assembly lines, especially in the aerospace and automotive sectors. Advancements in machine vision introduced automated robotic inspection of countersinks using laser scanners and monocular cameras. Nevertheless, the aforementioned sensing pipelines require the robot to pause on each hole for inspection due to high latency and measurement uncertainties with motion, leading to prolonged execution times of the inspection task. The neuromorphic vision sensor, on the other hand, has the potential to expedite the countersink inspection process, but the unorthodox output of the neuromorphic technology prohibits utilizing traditional image processing techniques. Therefore, novel event-based perception algorithms need to be introduced. We propose a countersink detection approach on the basis of event-based motion compensation and the mean-shift clustering principle. In addition, our framework presents a robust event-based circle detection algorithm to precisely estimate the depth of the countersink specimens. The proposed approach expedites the inspection process by a factor of 10 × compared to conventional countersink inspection methods. The work in this paper was validated for over 50 trials on three countersink workpiece variants. The experimental results show that our method provides a standard deviation of 0.025 mm and an accuracy of 0.026 mm for countersink depth inspection despite the low resolution of commercially available neuromorphic cameras. Video Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pateqqwh4d605t3/final_video_new.mp4?dl=0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research work focuses on the design and implementation of a highly advanced field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based system-on-chip (SoC) solution for real-time edge detection. By utilizing a Zynq processor and leveraging the powerful Vivado software, the aim is to overcome the significant computational challenges associated with achieving real-time edge detection. Edge detection in real-time scenarios presents several obstacles, including the possibility of missing edges due to noise and the substantial processing requirements of any edge detection technique. To address these challenges, the proposed SoC system synergistically combines the computational capabilities of an FPGA board and a Zynq processor, harnessing hardware acceleration to achieve high-performance edge detection. The OV7670 camera module serves as the primary input medium, capturing image frames for subsequent processing. These captured frames undergo initial processing before being seamlessly transferred to the FPGA fabric through customized intellectual property (IP) blocks. These IP blocks efficiently handle crucial tasks such as frame capturing, conversion to AXI Stream interface signals, and integration with the video direct memory access (VDMA) IP. The VDMA IP plays a pivotal role by facilitating high-speed data movement between the FPGA fabric and the Zynq processor IP, thereby enabling streamlined and efficient data transfer and processing. At the heart of this project lies the real-time edge detection algorithm, which is skillfully implemented on the Zynq processor. The resulting edge-detected frames are then visually presented and displayed on an output device utilizing the AXI4-Stream to Video Out IP. To ensure optimal utilization of available hardware resources, the comprehensive Vivado software suite provides a wide array of tools for designing, implementing, and programming the FPGA fabric. By leveraging FPGA-based systems, this project effectively addresses the critical need for real-time edge detection in time-sensitive scenarios. The result is a portable and manageable device that exhibits versatility, as it can be employed in various applications while reliably detecting edges in real-time situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellular senescence is a major driver of aging and age-related diseases. Quantification of senescent cells remains challenging due to the lack of senescence-specific markers and generalist, unbiased methodology. Here, we describe the Fully-Automated Senescence Test (FAST), an image-based method for the high-throughput, single-cell assessment of senescence in cultured cells. FAST quantifies three of the most widely adopted senescence-associated markers for each cell imaged: senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity (SA-β-Gal) using X-Gal, proliferation arrest via lack of 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) incorporation, and enlarged morphology via increased nuclear area. The presented workflow entails microplate image acquisition, image processing, data analysis, and graphing. Standardization was achieved by (i) quantifying colorimetric SA-β-Gal via optical density; (ii) implementing staining background controls; and (iii) automating image acquisition, image processing, and data analysis. In addition to the automated threshold-based scoring, a multivariate machine learning approach is provided. We show that FAST accurately quantifies senescence burden and is agnostic to cell type and microscope setup. Moreover, it effectively mitigates false-positive senescence marker staining, a common issue arising from culturing conditions. Using FAST, we compared X-Gal with fluorescent C12FDG live-cell SA-β-Gal staining on the single-cell level. We observed only a modest correlation between the two, indicating that those stains are not trivially interchangeable. Finally, we provide proof of concept that our method is suitable for screening compounds that modify senescence burden. This method will be broadly useful to the aging field by enabling rapid, unbiased, and user-friendly quantification of senescence burden in culture, as well as facilitating large-scale experiments that were previously impractical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work proposes a novel robotic exoskeleton for rehabilitation of the index finger. Though all motions of index finger are essential, the major range of motion is covered by flexion/extension motion. Hence, a Stephenson III six-bar mechanism has been synthesized for the robotic exoskeleton device for a pre-defined trajectory to address post stroke rehabilitation of patients. The flexion/extension trajectory was obtained experimentally using image processing. Based on the trajectory, a mathematical model was formulated which was used as the objective function for the optimization problem. To eliminate any defects that may be encountered during the synthesis, "loop-by-loop defect rectification" procedure was implemented along with well-established optimization algorithms such as TLBO, BWP, GWO and PSO for synthesis of the desired mechanism. It has been found that TLBO outperformed all the others as it could reduce the objective function value to 0.69849. whereas, BWP reduced it to 8.9952, GWO reduced it to 13.1388, and PSO could only reduce it to 6 × 105. Therefore, the design obtained using TLBO was considered for developing the prototype of the device. The device was validated experimentally using image processing, and it is found to cover the prescribed range of motion. Thus, the proposed exoskeleton is deemed to be a viable solution for post stroke index-finger rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of deep learning in the last decade, generating and processing real-time images have become one of critical methods in intelligent driving systems for new energy vehicles. However, the real-time images captured by sensors are susceptible to variations in various environments, including different weather and lighting conditions. To enhance the real-time image generation performance for new energy vehicles in complex environments, and improve real-time visual image processing capabilities, this study proposes an energy-efficient real-time visual image adversarial generation and processing algorithm, called as ENV-GAN. It hypothesizes a shared latent domain among mixed image domains after analyzing driving situations under various weather and lighting conditions. Mappings are established between different image domains. Besides, a multi-encoder weight-sharing technique is utilized to enhances the generative adversarial network model. Additionally, the algorithm integrates an attention module to enhance the model’s image generation. Experimental results and analysis demonstrate that the new algorithm outperforms existing algorithms in tasks such as defogging, rain removal, and lighting enhancement, offering high energy efficiency and low energy consumption. [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]

Microbiologically Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) is a technology for improving soil characteristics, especially strength, that has been gaining increasing interest in literature during the last few years. Although a lot of influencing factors on the result of MICP are known, particle size and shape of the particles remain poorly understood. While destructive measuring of compressive strength or calcium carbonate content are important for the characterization of samples these methods give no insight into the internal structures and pore networks of the samples. X-ray microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) is a technique that is used to characterize the internals of rocks and to a certain degree MICP-treated soils. However, the impact of filtering and image processing of micro-CT Data depending on the type of MICP sample is poorly described in the literature. In this study, single fractions of local quarry were treated with MICP through the ureolytic microorganism Sporosarcina pasteurii to investigate the influence of particle size distribution on calcium carbonate content, unconfined compressive strength and the reduction of water permeability. Additionally, micro-CT was conducted to obtain insights into the resulting pore system. The impact of the Gauss filter und Non-local means filter on the resulting images and data on the pore network are discussed. The results show that particle size has a significant impact on the result of all tested parameters of biosandstone with lower particle size leading to higher strength and generally higher calcium carbonate content. Micro-CT data showed that the technology is feasible to gain valuable insights into the internal structures of biosandstone but the resolution and signal-to-noise ratio remain challenging, especially for samples with particle sizes smaller than 125 µm. Article highlights: Microbiologically Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation is more effective for smaller sand particle sizes Smaller particle size of sand lead to higher permeability reduction, higher compressive strength and higher calcium carbonate contents in biosandstone X-ray microcomputed tomography and image analysis is sufficient to characterize the pore system of biosandstone and detect uneven biocemented areas Usage of different digital filters influence resulting images and data from X-ray microcomputed tomography [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]

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]

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]

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]

With the increasing complexity of digital systems, managing power dissipation and energy consumption in digital circuits, particularly in emerging embedded systems for artificial intelligence and signal processing applications, has become a challenging issue. The emerging paradigm of approximate computing offers the potential to reduce energy consumption and enhance speed by trading accuracy. This paper introduces several 4-bit approximate multipliers and outlines a systematic approach for constructing extended bit-length multipliers by leveraging lower bit-length counterparts. Our evaluations confirm that, in comparison with state-of-the-art approximate multipliers, the proposed multipliers demonstrate energy reduction of up to 50, 76, and 83% in 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit multipliers, respectively. Additionally, the reduction in energy-delay product (EDP) reaches up to 86, 93, and 97%, correspondingly. The efficiency of the proposed approximate multipliers has been explored and confirmed in executing various image processing algorithms, a regression model developed for stock price prediction, and in executing quadrature amplitude demodulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to large image volumes through camera traps and crowdsourcing provides novel possibilities for animal monitoring and conservation. It calls for automatic methods for analysis, in particular, when re-identifying individual animals from the images. Most existing re-identification methods rely on either hand-crafted local features or end-to-end learning of fur pattern similarity. The former does not need labeled training data, while the latter, although very data-hungry typically outperforms the former when enough training data is available. We propose a novel re-identification pipeline that combines the strengths of both approaches by utilizing modern learnable local features and feature aggregation. This creates representative pattern feature embeddings that provide high re-identification accuracy while allowing us to apply the method to small datasets by using pre-trained feature descriptors. We report a comprehensive comparison of different modern local features and demonstrate the advantages of the proposed pipeline on two very different species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potholes are a significant hazard, causing severe damage to vehicles and potentially leading to fatal accidents. The automatic detection of potholes is crucial for timely maintenance and reducing these risks. This research evaluates the performance of three pre-trained Convolutional Neural Network models—ResNet 50, ResNet 18, and MobileNet—in classifying pavement images. Initially, the models distinguish between images containing potholes and those without (Potholes vs. Normal). Subsequently, they categorize pavement images into three classes: Small Pothole, Large Pothole, and Normal. Pavement images were captured from two different heights: 3.5 feet (waist height) and 2 feet. Among the models, MobileNet v2 demonstrated the highest accuracy of 98% for detecting potholes. For images taken at 2 feet, the classification accuracies for large potholes, small potholes, and normal pavement were 87.33%, 88.67%, and 92%, respectively. For images taken from waist height, the accuracies increased to 98.67%, 98.67%, and 100%, respectively. The study highlights the potential of these models in enhancing road safety through reliable and automated pothole detection, providing valuable insights for infrastructure maintenance. Article Highlights: Potholes are dangerous and can cause serious vehicle damage. Train CNN models for the classification of potholes These CNNs, for different sizes of potholes can be used for the rehabilitation of potholes. Among all CNN modes, MobileNet v2 achieves 98% accuracy in detecting the presence of a pothole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hot forging is one of the common manufacturing processes for producing brass workpieces. However forging produces flash which is a thin metal part around the desired part formed with an excessive material. Using robots with vision system to manipulate this workpiece has encountered several challenging issues, e.g. the uncertain shape of flash, color, reflection of brass surface, different lighting condition, and the uncertainty surrounding the position and orientation of the workpiece. In this research, Mask region-based convolutional neural network together with image processing is used to resolve these issues. The depth camera can provide images for visual detection. Machine learning Mask region-based convolutional neural network model was trained with color images and the position of the object is determined by the depth image. A dual arm 7 degree of freedom collaborative robot with proposed grasping strategy is used to grasp the workpiece that can be in inappropriate position and pose. Eventually, experiments were conducted to assess the visual detection process and the grasp planning of the robot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cracks are a common problem in concrete surfaces. With the continuous optimization of machine vision-based inspection systems, effective crack detection and recognition is the core of the entire system. In this study, support vector machine (SVM) was used to distinguish cracks from other regions. To complete the recognition system of the SVM, a framework consisting of an image processing and recognition model was proposed. An algorithm combining the Prewitt operator with the Otsu threshold was proposed for image segmentation. The binary image processed by the new algorithm combined with mathematical morphology can result in a more complete crack zone and fewer interference regions. After the initial parameter extraction, most of the impurity areas were screened by preliminary discrimination, removing 99% of the impurities. This processing step ensured the balance and effectiveness of the samples. To establish an automatic identification model based on SVM with a radial basis function, compactness, occupancy rate, and length–width ratio were selected as input parameters after comparing these three features with all six features of the crack. The recognition accuracy of this system reaches 97.14%, demonstrating that the proposed method is effective and satisfies practical requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a framework of obstacle avoidance algorithm applied to power line damage safety distance detection is constructed, and its overall architecture and key processes are described in detail. The system design covers three core modules: visual data acquisition and preliminary processing, accurate target recognition and distance measurement, and system error analysis and correction. In the visual data processing chain, we deeply analyze every step from image acquisition to preprocessing to feature extraction, aiming to enhance the adaptability of applications to complex scenes. The target recognition and distance estimation part integrates advanced technology of deep learning to improve the reliability of recognition accuracy and distance estimation. In addition, many common error sources, such as system bias, parallax discontinuity, fluctuation of illumination conditions, etc., are discussed in depth, and corresponding correction strategies are proposed to ensure the accuracy and stability of the system, which provides powerful technical support for achieving efficient and accurate safety monitoring. Specifically, by carefully adjusting the learning rate, convolution kernel size, batch size, pooling layer type, and number of hidden layer nodes, we succeeded in improving the overall accuracy from the initial average of 92.4–95%, and the error rate decreased accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging Industry 5.0 designs promote artificial intelligence services and data-driven applications across multiple places with varying ownership that need special data protection and privacy considerations to prevent the disclosure of private information to outsiders. Due to this, federated learning offers a method for improving machine-learning models without accessing the train data at a single manufacturing facility. We provide a self-adaptive framework for federated machine learning of healthcare intelligent systems in this research. Our method takes into account the participating parties at various levels of healthcare ecosystem abstraction. Each hospital trains its local model internally in a self-adaptive style and transmits it to the centralized server for universal model optimization and communication cycle reduction. To represent a multi-task optimization issue, we split the dataset into as many subsets as devices. Each device selects the most advantageous subset for every local iteration of the model. On a training dataset, our initial study demonstrates the algorithm's ability to converge various hospital and device counts. By merging a federated machine-learning approach with advanced deep machine-learning models, we can simply and accurately predict multidisciplinary cancer diseases in the human body. Furthermore, in the smart healthcare industry 5.0, the results of federated machine learning approaches are used to validate multidisciplinary cancer disease prediction. The proposed adaptive federated machine learning methodology achieved 90.0%, while the conventional federated learning approach achieved 87.30%, both of which were higher than the previous state-of-the-art methodologies for cancer disease prediction in the smart healthcare industry 5.0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the problem that minimizing the sum of a nonsmooth function with a smooth one in the nonconvex setting, which arising in many contemporary applications such as machine learning, statistics, and signal/image processing. To solve this problem, we propose a new nonmonotone accelerated proximal gradient method with variable stepsize strategy. Note that incorporating inertial term into proximal gradient method is a simple and efficient acceleration technique, while the descent property of the proximal gradient algorithm will lost. In our algorithm, the iterates generated by inertial proximal gradient scheme are accepted when the objective function values decrease or increase appropriately; otherwise, the iteration point is generated by proximal gradient scheme, which makes the function values on a subset of iterates are decreasing. We also introduce a variable stepsize strategy, which does not need a line search or does not need to know the Lipschitz constant and makes the algorithm easy to implement. We show that the sequence of iterates generated by the algorithm converges to a critical point of the objective function. Further, under the assumption that the objective function satisfies the Kurdyka–Łojasiewicz inequality, we prove the convergence rates of the objective function values and the iterates. Moreover, numerical results on both convex and nonconvex problems are reported to demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method and stepsize strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the approximate parallel prefix adders with minimizing hardware and timing complexities are proposed. Moreover, an approximate multiplier based on these adders is designed. The approximate structures include two approximate Sklansky adders, one approximate Ladner-Fischer adder, and one approximate Kogge-Stone adder. The proposed adders are free from carry rippling. The main strategy for approximate design is primarily based on rearranging and deleting sub-blocks and secondary reducing the critical path delay and area in the adders. In this case, we have a trade-off between accuracy, delay, and area. The proposed approximate multiplier has a serial structure that is designed based on using one approximate parallel prefix adder. The proposed approximate adders and multiplier are compared from hardware and accuracy point of view such as gate count, delay, area delay product, error rate, mean error distance, mean relative error distance, and normalized error distance. The efficacy of proposed structures in image processing applications such as image smoothing (low-pass filter) and image multiplication is performed using MATLAB. The results show the proposed approximate structures are comparable in terms of area, delay, PSNR, and mean structural similarity index metric parameters with other works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrared thermal imaging presents a promising avenue for detecting physiological phenomena such as hot flushes in animals, presenting a non-invasive and efficient approach for monitoring health and behavior. However, thermal images often suffer from various types of noise, which can impede the accuracy of analysis. In this study, the efficacy of different noise filtering algorithms is investigated utilizing filtering algorithms as preprocessing steps to enhance U-Net convolutional neural network (CNN) performance in processing animal skin infrared image sets for hot flush recognition. This study compares the performance of four commonly used filtering methods: mean, median, Gaussian, and bilateral filters. The impact of each filtering technique on noise reduction and preservation of features critical for hot flush detection is evaluated in a machine learning hot flush detection algorithm. The optimal filtering for skin thermal imaging was a median filter which significantly improved the U-Net CNN's ability to accurately identify hot flush patterns, achieving an Intersection over Union score of 92.6% compared to 90.4% without filters. This research contributes to the advancement of thermal image processing methodologies for animal health monitoring applications, providing valuable insights for researchers and practitioners in the field of veterinary medicine and animal behavior studies utilizing autonomous thermal image segmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar loops are hot and magnetic structures that often have transverse displacements. In this research, we study the characteristics of three solar loops using the images observed in the radiation region with the Hinode/XRT telescope on 11 September 2017. Fluctuations of solar loops can be traced using two methods: image and spectral processing. In the first method, displacements and disturbances are measured in images, while in the second method, periodic patterns are searched in Doppler shifts by spectrometers. Our analysis method is based on image processing and solar loop seismology. In this method, the time slices can be prepared from the images and then analyzed using the wavelet method. The measurement results of time series for three loops with lengths of 113040, 79128, and 62800 km were obtained in the range of 3–18, 3–6, and 3–16 min, respectively. The phase velocity of these oscillations was calculated in the range of 209–1256, 438–879.2, and 130–697.7 km s−1 for three loops, respectively. Also, Alfven speeds were determined as 150–1012, 316–708.8, and 94–562.5 km s−1. The magnetic field related to these fluctuations was calculated by the seismological method with the approximation of the thin cylindrical model for the loops measuring 2.47–16.52, 3.6–11.56, and 1.1–9.18 Gauss. Our findings suggest that oscillating movements in the loops can be interpreted as Kink transverse oscillations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the processing methods of artistic images within the context of Smart city (SC) initiatives, focusing on the visual healing effects of artistic image processing to enhance urban residents' mental health and quality of life. Firstly, it examines the role of artistic image processing techniques in visual healing. Secondly, deep learning technology is introduced and improved, proposing the overlapping segmentation vision transformer (OSViT) for image blocks, and further integrating the bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) algorithm. An innovative artistic image processing and classification recognition model based on OSViT-BiLSTM is then constructed. Finally, the visual healing effect of the processed art images in different scenes is analyzed. The results demonstrate that the proposed model achieves a classification recognition accuracy of 92.9% for art images, which is at least 6.9% higher than that of other existing model algorithms. Additionally, over 90% of users report satisfaction with the visual healing effects of the artistic images. Therefore, it is found that the proposed model can accurately identify artistic images, enhance their beauty and artistry, and improve the visual healing effect. This study provides an experimental reference for incorporating visual healing into SC initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant diseases significantly threaten global agriculture, impacting crop yield and food security. Nearly 30% of the crop yield is lost due to plant diseases. Efficient identification and classification of plant diseases through computer vision techniques have become imperative for timely intervention. However, popular plant disease datasets often suffer from data imbalance, with certain classes underrepresented, hindering the performance of machine learning models. Traditional data augmentation methods, such as rotation and flipping, are limited in their effectiveness, especially when faced with imbalanced datasets. To address this limitation, we explore advanced data augmentation techniques, including Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) such as CycleGAN and LeafGAN, which have shown promise in generating synthetic images. However, we propose an innovative approach of Object-based single Style Transfer on a single neural network for augmenting the plant disease dataset. This technique focuses on mitigating data imbalance issues within datasets, which can adversely affect the model's ability to generalize across diverse classes. The proposed method is compared with state-of-the-art data augmentation techniques, highlighting its superiority in addressing data imbalance issues. Our approach aims to produce more realistic and diverse synthetic images, leading to improved model generalization and accuracy in plant disease classification tasks validated using different classifiers. The efficiency of our approach is validated through extensive experimentation and benchmarking against existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the reduced power generation efficiency caused by ash or dirt on the surface of photovoltaic panels, and the problems of heavy workload and low efficiency faced by manual detection, this study proposes a method to detect dust or dust on the surface of photovoltaic cells with the help of image processing technology to timely eliminate hidden dangers and improve power generation efficiency.This paper introduces image processing methods based on mathematical morphology, such as image enhancement, image sharpening, image filtering and image closing operation, which makes the image better highlight the target to be recognized. At the same time, it also solves the problem of uneven image binarization caused by uneven illumination in the process of image acquisition. By using the image histogram equalization, the gray level concentration area of the original image is opened or the gray level is evenly distributed, so that the dynamic range of the pixel gray level is increased, so that the image contrast or contrast is increased, the image details are clear, to achieve the purpose of enhancement. When identifying the target area, the method of calculating the proportion of the dirt area to the whole image area is adopted, and the ratio exceeding a certain threshold is judged as a fault. In addition, the improved A* path planning algorithm is adopted in this study, which greatly improves the efficiency of the unmanned aerial vehicle detection of photovoltaic cell dirt, saves time and resources, reduces operation and maintenance costs, and improves the operation and maintenance level of photovoltaic units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bilateral filtering is an image processing technique commonly adopted as intermediate step of several computer vision tasks. Opposite to the conventional image filtering, which is based on convolving the input pixels with a static kernel, the bilateral filtering computes its weights on the fly according to the current pixel values and some tuning parameters. Such additional elaborations involve nonlinear weighted averaging operations, which make difficult the deployment of bilateral filtering within existing vision technologies based on real-time and low-energy hardware architectures. This paper presents a new approximation strategy that aims to improve the energy efficiency of circuits implementing the bilateral filtering function, while preserving their real-time performances and elaboration accuracy. In contrast to the state-of-the-art, the proposed technique allows the filtering action to be on the fly adapted to both the current pixel values and to the tuning parameters, thus avoiding any architectural modification or tables update. When hardware implemented within the Xilinx Zynq XC7Z020 FPGA device, a 5 × 5 filter based on the proposed method processes 237.6 Mega pixels per second and consumes just 0.92 nJ per pixel, thus improving the energy efficiency by up to 2.8 times over the competitors. The impact of the proposed approximation on three different imaging applications has been also evaluated. Experiments demonstrate reasonable accuracy penalties over the accurate counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Super-resolution imaging has, for more than seventy years, gradually evolved to produce advanced methods for enhancing the resolution of images beyond the diffraction limits. Notwithstanding its foreseeable practical capabilities, we noted that this technology has received undeserved attention. The present work provides an extensive review of super-resolution imaging since its first conception in 1952, contextualizing studies into four research directions: reviews, advances, applications, and hardware implementations. We have discussed achievements, challenges, and potential opportunities of super-resolution imaging to equip researchers, especially those in their early careers, with knowledge to further advance the technology. Our work may open interesting research avenues that may accelerate realization of the technology into commercial imaging devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photonic integrated circuits have been extensively explored for optical processing with the aim of breaking the speed and energy efficiency bottlenecks of digital electronics. However, the input/output (IO) bottleneck remains one of the key barriers. Here we report a photonic iterative processor (PIP) for matrix-inversion-intensive applications. The direct reuse of inputted data in the optical domain unlocks the potential to break the IO bottleneck. We demonstrate notable IO advantages with a lossless PIP for real-valued matrix inversion and integral-differential equation solving, as well as a coherent PIP with optical loops integrated on-chip, enabling complex-valued computation and a net inversion time of 1.2 ns. Furthermore, we estimate at least an order of magnitude enhancement in IO efficiency of a PIP over photonic single-pass processors and the state-of-the-art electronic processors for reservoir training tasks and multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) precoding tasks, indicating the huge potential of PIP technology in practical applications. Integrated photonic iterative processors provide a novel I/O-efficient computing paradigm for matrix-inversion-intensive tasks, achieving higher speed and energy efficiency than state-of-the-art electronic and photonic processors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the development of a Hardware Development Kit (HDK) for a remote training platform on FPGA Devices designed to provide university students pursuing degrees in electronic and informatics engineering (at the bachelor's, master's, and PhD levels) with the tools they need to learn and develop systems related to artificial intelligence, digital signal processing, image processing, digital systems, integrated and embedded systems using an FPGA chip. Through the internet or a local network, students can engage with the platform to conduct engineering experiments. The HDK is equipped with a Raspberry Pi, a screen, a camera, and LEDs to facilitate the transfer of experiment results and to aid in assessing the validity of lab experiment execution. The Raspberry Pi plays a crucial role in the HDK, providing control and monitoring, remote access, data processing, user interface, and integration with other possible systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop diseases can significantly affect various aspects of crop cultivation, including crop yield, quality, production costs, and crop loss. The utilization of modern technologies such as image analysis via machine learning techniques enables early and precise detection of crop diseases, hence empowering farmers to effectively manage and avoid the occurrence of crop diseases. The proposed methodology involves the use of modified MobileNetV3Large model deployed on edge device for real-time monitoring of grape leaf disease while reducing computational memory demands and ensuring satisfactory classification performance. To enhance applicability of MobileNetV3Large, custom layers consisting of two dense layers were added, each followed by a dropout layer, helped mitigate overfitting and ensured that the model remains efficient. Comparisons among other models showed that the proposed model outperformed those with an average train and test accuracy of 99.66% and 99.42%, with a precision, recall, and F1 score of approximately 99.42%. The model was deployed on an edge device (Nvidia Jetson Nano) using a custom developed GUI app and predicted from both saved and real-time data with high confidence values. Grad-CAM visualization was used to identify and represent image areas that affect the convolutional neural network (CNN) classification decision-making process with high accuracy. This research contributes to the development of plant disease classification technologies for edge devices, which have the potential to enhance the ability of autonomous farming for farmers, agronomists, and researchers to monitor and mitigate plant diseases efficiently and effectively, with a positive impact on global food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mass and volume of Rosa roxburghii fruits are essential for fruit grading and consumer selection. Physical characteristics such as dimension, projected area, mass, and volume are interrelated. Image-based mass and volume estimation facilitates the automation of fruit grading, which can replace time-consuming and laborious manual grading. In this study, image processing techniques were used to extract fruit dimensions and projected areas, and univariate (linear, quadratic, exponential, and power) and multivariate regression models were used to estimate the mass and volume of Rosa roxburghii fruits. The results showed that the quadratic model based on the criterion projected area (CPA) estimated the best mass (R2 = 0.981) with an accuracy of 99.27%, and the equation is M = 0.280 + 0.940CPA + 0.071CPA2. The multivariate regression model based on three projected areas (PA1, PA2, and PA3) estimated the best volume (R2 = 0.898) with an accuracy of 98.24%, and the equation is V = − 8.467 + 0.657PA1 + 1.294PA2 + 0.628PA3. In practical applications, cost savings can be realized by having only one camera position. Therefore, when the required accuracy is low, estimating mass and volume simultaneously from only the dimensional information of the side view or the projected area information of the top view is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of modern science and technology, navigation technology provides great convenience for people's life, but the problem of inaccurate localization in complex environments has always been a challenge that navigation technology needs to be solved urgently. To address this challenge, this paper proposes an augmented reality navigation method that combines image segmentation and multi-sensor fusion tracking registration. The method optimizes the image processing process through the GA-OTSU-Canny algorithm and combines high-precision multi-sensor information in order to achieve accurate tracking of positioning and guidance in complex environments. Experimental results show that the GA-OTSU-Canny algorithm has a faster image edge segmentation rate, and the fastest start speed is only 1.8 s, and the fastest intersection selection time is 1.2 s. The navigation system combining the image segmentation and sensor tracking and registration techniques has a highly efficient performance in real-world navigation, and its building recognition rates are all above 99%. The augmented reality navigation system not only improves the navigation accuracy in high-rise and urban canyon environments, but also significantly outperforms traditional navigation solutions in terms of navigation startup time and target building recognition accuracy. In summary, this research not only provides a new framework for the theoretical integration of image processing and multi-sensor data, but also brings innovative technical solutions for the development and application of practical navigation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for reliable evapotranspiration (ET) estimates has prompted the introduction of new methodologies. This study aimed at studying the ET of a processing cassava field (13°6′39" S, 39°16′46" W, 154 m asl) in a tropical climate in Bahia, Brazil, under rainfed conditions from April to August 2019 by means of micrometeorological and remote sensing methods. The combination of surface renewal analysis and energy balance (SREB) demonstrated its potential to accurately determine the crop ET once calibrated against eddy covariance measurements of H. Remote sensing techniques were also applied with the METRIC and SAFER algorithms. Due to frequent cloud cover in the area, only three Landsat images from overpasses in May and June could be used. High agreement in terms of crop ET was found between the surface and the remote sensing methods. For the three images processed, METRIC and SAFER were 8.6% and 26.4% higher than SREB, on average. Among the proposed regression models (M1, M2, and M3) for estimation of processing cassava ET, M3 showed a better adjustment with the highest coefficient of determination (r2 = 0.952) and lowest error (RMSE = 0.205 mm day−1). In the M3 model, ET/Rn was expressed as a function of the NDVI/LAI ratio. These three biophysical parameters, Rn, NDVI, and LAI, can routinely be determined from image processing for field applications in water management at the studied region. Therefore, with a limited set of variables, this approach can be satisfactorily applied using data collection methodologies that provide enhanced temporal and spatial resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around 20% of complete blood count samples necessitate visual review using light microscopes or digital pathology scanners. There is currently no technological alternative to the visual examination of red blood cells (RBCs) morphology/shapes. True/non-artifact teardrop-shaped RBCs and schistocytes/fragmented RBCs are commonly associated with serious medical conditions that could be fatal, increased ovalocytes are associated with almost all types of anemias. 25 distinct blood smears, each from a different patient, were manually prepared, stained, and then sorted into four groups. Each group underwent imaging using different cameras integrated into light microscopes with 40X microscopic lenses resulting in total 47 K + field images/patches. Two hematologists processed cell-by-cell to provide one million + segmented RBCs with their XYWH coordinates and classified 240 K + RBCs into nine shapes. This dataset (Elsafty_RBCs_for_AI) enables the development/testing of deep learning-based (DL) automation of RBCs morphology/shapes examination, including specific normalization of blood smear stains (different from histopathology stains), detection/counting, segmentation, and classification. Two codes are provided (Elsafty_Codes_for_AI), one for semi-automated image processing and another for training/testing of a DL-based image classifier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, more and more brands use interesting anime characters to promote and increase brand awareness. However, real-time and interesting promotional materials are also one of the key factors to attract people, so real-time processing of anime characters has also become an effective way to enhance brand awareness. In recent years, with the rapid development of deep learning, image style conversion based on AI technology has become a much-attended artificial intelligence application, but it also suffers from the disadvantages of complex model structure, slow conversion speed, and inconspicuous identity features, which need to be improved. In view of this, this study proposes an anime portrait realization (ARF-GAN) algorithm based on generative adversarial network. This algorithm is based on the Pix2Pix architecture and also uses the U-net network structure with jump connections to connect the encoder’s feature maps directly to the decoder, which in turn enables the network to reconstruct the output data in a better way and the network architecture is more lightweight.This algorithm is based on the Pix2Pix architecture and also uses the U-net network structure with jump connections to connect the encoder’s feature maps directly to the decoder, which in turn enables the network to reconstruct the output data in a better way and the network architecture is more lightweight. It also introduces the CBAM module, which can enhance the model’s expressive and generative capabilities without increasing the model’s complexity, and improve the model’s real-time image processing capability. In addition, this paper also compensates for the problem of image blurring brought by the original architecture by introducing the deblurring module. The experimental results on CartoonFaceAB, DanBooru show that the proposed ARF-GAN has a better generative effect for the task of realizing anime portraits. And comparing with different types of image generating models, it shows better accuracy and lower complexity by using several evaluation indexes such as PSNR and SSIM. This makes it more suitable for brand advertisement promotion, so it has good application value for improving brand awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We developed a deep learning model for distinguishing radiation therapy (RT)-related changes and tumour recurrence in patients with lung cancer who underwent RT, and evaluated its performance. Methods: We retrospectively recruited 308 patients with lung cancer with RT-related changes observed on 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography–computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) performed after RT. Patients were labelled as positive or negative for tumour recurrence through histologic diagnosis or clinical follow-up after 18F-FDG PET/CT. A two-dimensional (2D) slice-based convolutional neural network (CNN) model was created with a total of 3329 slices as input, and performance was evaluated with five independent test sets. Results: For the five independent test sets, the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve, sensitivity, and specificity were in the range of 0.98–0.99, 95–98%, and 87–95%, respectively. The region determined by the model was confirmed as an actual recurred tumour through the explainable artificial intelligence (AI) using gradient-weighted class activation mapping (Grad-CAM). Conclusion: The 2D slice-based CNN model using 18F-FDG PET imaging was able to distinguish well between RT-related changes and tumour recurrence in patients with lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beans usually have similar physical attributes; thus, it is difficult to distinguish them manually. Size, shape, and mass attributes of seeds help in breeding, selection, classification, separation, and machine design. This study was conducted to determine physical attributes of 20 bean genotypes with the use of image processing techniques. Color characteristics of the present genotypes were also determined. Then, four different machine learning algorithms (MLP, RF, SVR, and k-NN) were employed to predict seed mass. Among the present genotypes, Güzelöz and Özdemir genotypes had the highest size, shape, and color characteristics. Highly significant positive correlations were encountered between projected area-equivalent diameter (r = 1.00), between geometric mean diameter—surface area and volume (r = 1.00). On the other hand, highly significant negative correlations were seen between sphericity—elongation in vertical orientation (r = − 0.98). In hierarchical cluster analysis for physical attributes, Alberto–Aslan and Aras 98–Şahin genotypes were identified as the closest genotypes. According to PCA analysis, the first two principal components (PC1 and PC2) were able to explain 73% of total variation among the genotypes. While PC1 axis included projected area (vertical), equivalent diameter (vertical), and length, PC2 axis included L*, a*, b*, sphericity, roundness (vertical), and elongation (vertical). Among the present machine learning algorithms, RF yielded the best performances in mass estimation of bean seeds. It was concluded that machine learning techniques increased the efficiency of related machinery and helped to save time and labor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is an additive manufacturing technology with high practical value. In order to improve the quality of the fabricated parts, process monitoring has become a crucial solution, offering the potential to ensure manufacturing stability and repeatability. However, a cardinal challenge involves discerning a precise correlation between process characteristics and potential defects. This paper elucidates the integration of an off-axis vision monitoring mechanism via a high-speed camera focused on capturing the single-track melting phenomenon. An innovative image processing method was devised to segment the plume and spatters, while Kalman filter was employed for multi-object tracking of the spatters. The features of both the plume and spatters were extracted, and their relationship with molten states was investigated. Finally, the PSO-XGBoost algorithm was utilized to identify five molten states, achieving an accuracy of 92.16%. The novelty of this approach resides in its unique combination of plume characteristics, spatter features, and computationally efficient machine learning models, which collectively address the challenge of limited field of view prevalent in real production scenarios, thereby enhancing process monitoring efficacy. Relative to existing methodologies, the proposed PSO-XGBoost approach offers heightened accuracy, convenience, and appropriateness for the monitoring of the LPBF process. This work provides an effective and novel approach to monitor the LPBF process and evaluate the part fabrication quality for complex and changeable working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in computer image recognition have significantly impacted many industries, including healthcare, security and autonomous systems. This paper aims to explore the potential of improving image algorithms to enhance computer image recognition. Specifically, we will focus on regression methods as a means to improve the accuracy and efficiency of identifying images. In this study, we will analyze various regression techniques and their applications in computer image recognition, as well as the resulting performance improvements through detailed examples and data analysis. This paper deals with the problems related to visual image processing in outdoor unstructured environment. Finally, the heterogeneous patterns are converted into the same pattern, and the heterogeneous patterns are extracted from the fusion features of data modes. The simulation results show that the perception ability and recognition ability of outdoor image recognition in complex environment are improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns regarding microplastic (MP) contamination in aquatic ecosystems and its impact on seafood require a better understanding of human dietary MP exposure including extensive monitoring. While conventional techniques for MP analysis like infrared or Raman microspectroscopy provide detailed particle information, they are limited by low sample throughput, particularly when dealing with high particle numbers in seafood due to matrix-related residues. Consequently, more rapid techniques need to be developed to meet the requirements of large-scale monitoring. This study focused on semi-automated fluorescence imaging analysis after Nile red staining for rapid MP screening in seafood. By implementing RGB-based fluorescence threshold values, the need for high operator expertise to prevent misclassification was addressed. Food-relevant MP was identified with over 95% probability and differentiated from natural polymers with a 1% error rate. Comparison with laser direct infrared imaging (LDIR), a state-of-the-art method for rapid MP analysis, showed similar particle counts, indicating plausible results. However, highly variable recovery rates attributed to inhomogeneous particle spiking experiments highlight the need for future development of certified reference material including sample preparation. The proposed method demonstrated suitability of high throughput analysis for seafood samples, requiring 0.02–0.06 h/cm2 filter surface compared to 4.5–14.7 h/cm with LDIR analysis. Overall, the method holds promise as a screening tool for more accurate yet resource-intensive MP analysis methods such as spectroscopic or thermoanalytical techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Achieving a consensus on a definition for different aspects of radiomics workflows to support their translation into clinical usage. Furthermore, to assess the perspective of experts on important challenges for a successful clinical workflow implementation. Materials and methods: The consensus was achieved by a multi-stage process. Stage 1 comprised a definition screening, a retrospective analysis with semantic mapping of terms found in 22 workflow definitions, and the compilation of an initial baseline definition. Stages 2 and 3 consisted of a Delphi process with over 45 experts hailing from sites participating in the German Research Foundation (DFG) Priority Program 2177. Stage 2 aimed to achieve a broad consensus for a definition proposal, while stage 3 identified the importance of translational challenges. Results: Workflow definitions from 22 publications (published 2012–2020) were analyzed. Sixty-nine definition terms were extracted, mapped, and semantic ambiguities (e.g., homonymous and synonymous terms) were identified and resolved. The consensus definition was developed via a Delphi process. The final definition comprising seven phases and 37 aspects reached a high overall consensus (> 89% of experts "agree" or "strongly agree"). Two aspects reached no strong consensus. In addition, the Delphi process identified and characterized from the participating experts' perspective the ten most important challenges in radiomics workflows. Conclusion: To overcome semantic inconsistencies between existing definitions and offer a well-defined, broad, referenceable terminology, a consensus workflow definition for radiomics-based setups and a terms mapping to existing literature was compiled. Moreover, the most relevant challenges towards clinical application were characterized. Critical relevance statement: Lack of standardization represents one major obstacle to successful clinical translation of radiomics. Here, we report a consensus workflow definition on different aspects of radiomics studies and highlight important challenges to advance the clinical adoption of radiomics. Key Points: Published radiomics workflow terminologies are inconsistent, hindering standardization and translation. A consensus radiomics workflow definition proposal with high agreement was developed. Publicly available result resources for further exploitation by the scientific community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile devices and handheld systems, such as the smartphones and tablets universally extended, are becoming increasingly powerful. Their basic hardware configuration is usually state-of-the-art heterogeneous architectures consisting of multi-core processors and some kind of accelerator such as GPUs or DSPs. Specific code adapted to the architecture is mandatory if high-performance computation is required and low-level libraries and parallelism are needed, which constitutes an important barrier for the usual developer in such devices. In this context, we propose the FancyJCL framework. It provides a high-level abstraction layer that hides implementation details and allows to develop parallel programs for mobile devices. The target platform for FancyJCL is mainly Android and Java developers due to their high market penetration. A very simple, seemingly sequential encoding results in parallel efficient OpenCL code. FancyJCL is itself based on the Fancier framework, which enables optimal memory management across memory spaces on unified memory systems. Benchmarks of FancyJCL code developed for a wide range of image processing algorithms show good performance with low development effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional image processing and machine learning based on handcrafted features struggle to meet the real time and high-accuracy requirements for industrial defect detection in complex, sensitive, and dynamic environments. To address this issue, this paper proposes AENet, a novel real-time defect detection network based on an encoder-decoder model, which achieves high detection accuracy and efficiency while demonstrating excellent convergence and generalization. Firstly, a spatial channel attention module in the encoding network is designed to exploit both spatial attention and channel attention using a multi-head 3D self-attention mechanism. This improves parallelism and detection efficiency. Secondly, the decoding network of AENet incorporates the cross-level attention fusion module, which fuses input features from different layers. Combined with multi-level upsampling design, the decoder enhances the representation of defect details. Furthermore, we insert a simplified aggregator into the encoder-decoder network to extract feature information at different scales with low computational cost. This aggregation process aids in training and inference on industrial defect datasets by incorporating contextual information. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that AENet outperforms other segmentation models in accomplishing defect recognition and segmentation in challenging optical environments. It exhibits a faster convergence than other networks and a balance between accuracy and speed. It achieves a recognition accuracy of over 96% for almost all types of defects in the actual industrial environment on the NVIDIA Tesla V100 GPU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proliferation of smart conurbations entails an efficient system design for managing all the crowds in public places. Multitude controlling procedures are carried out for controlling compact areas where more number of peoples is present at several groups. Therefore for controlling purpose the proposed method aims to design a pictorial representation using Internet of Things (IoT). The process is carried out by taking images and then organizing it using switching techniques in the presence of square boxes where entire populace is identified on real time experimentations. For processing and controlling the occurrence a separate architecture is designed with analytical equivalences where all data set is stored in cloud platform. Further the incorporation of system model is carried out using Switching Based Algorithm (SBA) which adds more number of columns even for high population cases. In order to verify the effectiveness of proposed model five scenarios are considered with performance evaluation metrics for SBA and all the test results provides best optimal results. Moreover the projected model is improved with an average percentage of 83 as compared to existing models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Very high-resolution remote sensing images hold promising applications in ground observation tasks, paving the way for highly competitive solutions using image processing techniques for land cover classification. To address the challenges faced by convolutional neural network (CNNs) in exploring contextual information in remote sensing image land cover classification and the limitations of vision transformer (ViT) series in effectively capturing local details and spatial information, we propose a local feature acquisition and global context understanding network (LFAGCU). Specifically, we design a multidimensional and multichannel convolutional module to construct a local feature extractor aimed at capturing local information and spatial relationships within images. Simultaneously, we introduce a global feature learning module that utilizes multiple sets of multi-head attention mechanisms for modeling global semantic information, abstracting the overall feature representation of remote sensing images. Validation, comparative analyses, and ablation experiments conducted on three different scales of publicly available datasets demonstrate the effectiveness and generalization capability of the LFAGCU method. Results show its effectiveness in locating category attribute information related to remote sensing areas and its exceptional generalization capability. Code is available at https://github.com/lzp-lkd/LFAGCU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rock strength parameters such as uniaxial compressive strength and modulus of elasticity are crucial parameters in designing rock engineering structures. Owing to the importance of the aforementioned parameters, in this paper, image processing technique is coupled with artificial neural network (ANN) method for assessing the uniaxial compressive strength and modulus of elasticity of sandstones. For this reason, 102 core sandstone samples were prepared. Subsequently petrographic analyses and imaging operation for 102 images were performed. Principal component analysis was then conducted for feature reduction purposes. At last, an ANN model, which received its input data from image processing technique, was constructed for assessing the UCS and E of sandstone samples. Overall, the best performance of the network was obtained when 10 hidden nodes were used. The correlation coefficient (R) values of 0.9722 and 0.97062 for UCS and E, respectively, suggest the feasibility of the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a novel method for 3D data cube denoising, where the 3D data cube is corrupted by noise with spatially varying noise levels. We perform 3D dual tree complex wavelet transform (DTCWT) to the 3D data cube, and then conduct wavelet-based thresholding based on three scales of dependency in wavelet coefficients. Instead of using the global noise level, we estimate the noise levels locally, which improve the denoising results substantially. We conduct inverse DTCWT to obtain the noise reduced data cubes. Experiments demonstrate that our proposed method outperforms block matching and 3D filtering, video block matching and 3D filtering, 2D bivariate shrinkage, and 3D bivariate shrinkage significantly for noise reduction of 3D data cubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decomposing an image into meaningful components is an effective way for image processing. Making full use of cartoon features and texture features with deep neural networks may further achieve the stable noise cancellation performance for low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) denoising. However, the performance of conventional deep neural networks is limited by their black-box nature. To overcome this drawback, we proposed an algorithm unrolling approach for LDCT denoising, namely, the cartoon-texture features guided network (CTFG-Net). The CTFG-Net integrates a cartoon sub-network, a texture sub-network, and a fusion sub-network into an end-to-end convolutional neural network model. A cartoon decomposition algorithm and a texture decomposition algorithm were unrolled to the cartoon sub-network and the texture sub-network, respectively. These two sub-networks were employed to decompose a LDCT image into its cartoon components and texture components. During the process of image decomposition, these two sub-networks exploited cartoon features and texture features to greatly suppress noise and remove artifacts in the corresponding components. At last, the final denoised results were yielded through a data fusion of the denoised cartoon components and the denoised texture components. The proposed model was tested with three datasets, Mayo dataset, Piglet dataset, and AbdomenCT-1K dataset. Qualitative results show that the CTFG-Net achieved better denoising effects for LDCT images than the competing algorithms. Compared to the competing algorithms, the proposed CTFG-Net also improved the peak signal-to-noise ratio, structural similarity index measure, and visual information fidelity by (0.3994 dB and 0.7692 dB), (0.0115 and 0.0056), and (0.0751 and 0.0433) with Mayo dataset and Piglet dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]