Abstract: This paper proposes a technique for RGB-D scene segmentation using Multi-class
Multi-scale Stacked Sequential Learning (MMSSL) paradigm. Following recent trends in state-of-the-art, a base classifier uses an initial SLIC segmentation to obtain superpixels which provide a diminution of data while retaining object boundaries. A series of color and depth features are extracted from the superpixels, and are used in a Conditional Random Field (CRF) to predict superpixel labels. Furthermore, a Random Forest (RF) classifier using random offset features is also used as an input to the CRF, acting as an initial prediction. As a stacked classifier, another Random Forest is used acting on a spatial multi-scale decomposition of the CRF confidence map to correct the erroneous labels assigned by the previous classifier. The model is tested on the popular NYU-v2 dataset.
The approach shows that simple multi-modal features with the power of the MMSSL
paradigm can achieve better performance than state of the art results on the same dataset.

Abstract: The sixteen papers in this special section focus on human pose recovery and behavior analysis (HuPBA). This is one of the most challenging topics in computer vision, pattern analysis, and machine learning. It is of critical importance for application areas that include gaming, computer interaction, human robot interaction, security, commerce, assistive technologies and rehabilitation, sports, sign language recognition, and driver assistance technology, to mention just a few. In essence, HuPBA requires dealing with the articulated nature of the human body, changes in appearance due to clothing, and the inherent problems of clutter scenes, such as background artifacts, occlusions, and illumination changes. These papers represent the most recent research in this field, including new methods considering still images, image sequences, depth data, stereo vision, 3D vision, audio, and IMUs, among others.

Abstract: Bag-of-words model (BOW) is inspired by the text classification problem, where a document is represented by an unsorted set of contained words. Analogously, in the object categorization problem, an image is represented by an unsorted set of discrete visual words (BOVW). In these models, relations among visual words are performed after dictionary construction. However, close object regions can have far descriptions in the feature space, being grouped as different visual words. In this paper, we present a method for considering geometrical information of visual words in the dictionary construction step. Object interest regions are obtained by means of the Harris-Affine detector and then described using the SIFT descriptor. Afterward, a contextual-space and a feature-space are defined, and a merging process is used to fuse feature words based on their proximity in the contextual-space. Moreover, we use the Error Correcting Output Codes framework to learn the new dictionary in order to perform multi-class classification. Results show significant classification improvements when spatial information is taken into account in the dictionary construction step.

Abstract: We present an application of gesture recognition using an extension of Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) to recognize behavioural patterns of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). We propose an extension of DTW using one-class classifiers in order to be able to encode the variability of a gesture category, and thus, perform an alignment between a gesture sample and a gesture class. We model the set of gesture samples of a certain gesture category using either GMMs or an approximation of Convex Hulls. Thus, we add a theoretical contribution to classical warping path in DTW by including local modeling of intra-class gesture variability. This methodology is applied in a clinical context, detecting a group of ADHD behavioural patterns defined by experts in psychology/psychiatry, to provide support to clinicians in the diagnose procedure. The proposed methodology is tested on a novel multi-modal dataset (RGB plus Depth) of ADHD children recordings with behavioural patterns. We obtain satisfying results when compared to standard state-of-the-art approaches in the DTW context.

Abstract: In this work two databases for the Joint Challenge on Dominant and Complementary Emotion Recognition Using Micro Emotion Features and Head-Pose Estimation1 are introduced. Head pose estimation paired with and detailed emotion recognition have become very important in relation to human-computer interaction. The 3D head pose database, SASE, is a 3D database acquired with Microsoft Kinect 2 camera, including RGB and depth information of different head poses which is composed by a total of 30000 frames with annotated markers, including 32 male and 18 female subjects. For the dominant and complementary emotion database, iCVMEFED, includes 31250 images with different emotions of 115 subjects whose gender distribution is almost uniform. For each subject there are 5 samples. The emotions are composed by 7 basic emotions plus neutral, being defined as complementary and dominant pairs. The emotion associated to the images were labeled with the support of psychologists.

Abstract: The exploitation of cellular network data for studying human mobility has been a popular research topic in the last decade. Indeed, mobile terminals could be considered ubiquitous sensors that allow the observation of human movements on large scale without the need of relying on non-scalable techniques, such as surveys, or dedicated and expensive monitoring infrastructures. In particular, Call Detail Records (CDRs), collected by operators for billing purposes,
have been extensively employed due to their rather large availability, compared to other types of cellular data (e.g., signaling). Despite the interest aroused around this topic, the research community has generally agreed about the scarcity of information provided by CDRs: the position of mobile terminals is logged when some kind of activity (calls, SMS, data connections) occurs, which translates in a picture of mobility somehow biased by the activity degree of users.
By studying two datasets collected by a Nation-wide operator in 2014 and 2016, we show that the situation has drastically changed in terms of data volume and quality. The increase of flat data plans and the higher penetration of “
always connected” terminals have driven up the number of recorded CDRs, providing higher temporal accuracy for users’ locations.

Abstract: INTRODUCTION:
Sleep surfaces must adapt to individual somatotypic features to maintain a comfortable, convenient and healthy sleep, preventing diseases and injuries. Individually determining the most adequate rest surface can often be a complex and subjective question.
OBJECTIVES:
To design and validate an automatic multimodal somatotype determination model to automatically recommend an individually designed mattress-topper-pillow combination.
METHODS:
Design and validation of an automated prescription model for an individualised sleep system is performed through a single-image 2 D-3 D analysis and body pressure distribution, to objectively determine optimal individual sleep surfaces combining five different mattress densities, three different toppers and three cervical pillows.
RESULTS:
A final study (n = 151) and re-analysis (n = 117) defined and validated the model, showing high correlations between calculated and real data (>85% in height and body circumferences, 89.9% in weight, 80.4% in body mass index and more than 70% in morphotype categorisation).
CONCLUSIONS:
Somatotype determination model can accurately prescribe an individualised sleep solution. This can be useful for healthy people and for health centres that need to adapt sleep surfaces to people with special needs. Next steps will increase model's accuracy and analise, if this prescribed individualised sleep solution can improve sleep quantity and quality; additionally, future studies will adapt the model to mattresses with technological improvements, tailor-made production and will define interfaces for people with special needs.