Abstract: In this paper we present a multipage administrative document image retrieval system based on textual and visual representations of document pages. Individual pages are represented by textual or visual information using a bag-of-words framework. Different fusion strategies are evaluated which allow the system to perform multipage document retrieval on the basis of a single page retrieval system. Results are reported on a large dataset of document images sampled from a banking workflow.

Abstract: Publication date: 2012/3/8

Abstract: We present a Bag-of-Visual-and-Depth-Words (BoVDW) model for gesture recognition, an extension of the Bag-of-Visual-Words (BoVW) model, that benefits from the multimodal fusion of visual and depth features. State-of-the-art RGB and depth features, including a new proposed depth descriptor, are analysed and combined in a late fusion fashion. The method is integrated in a continuous gesture recognition pipeline, where Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) algorithm is used to perform prior segmentation of gestures. Results of the method in public data sets, within our gesture recognition pipeline, show better performance in comparison to a standard BoVW model.

Abstract: In this thesis we tackle the problem of automatic characterization of human coronary vessel in Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) image modality. The basis for the whole characterization process is machine learning applied to multi-class problems. In all the presented approaches, the Error-Correcting Output Codes (ECOC) framework is used as central element for the design of multi-class classifiers.
Two main topics are tackled in this thesis. First, the automatic detection of the vessel borders is presented. For this purpose, a novel context-aware classifier for multi-class classification of the vessel morphology is presented, namely ECOC-DRF. Based on ECOC-DRF, the lumen border and the media-adventitia border in IVUS are robustly detected by means of a novel holistic approach, achieving an error comparable with inter-observer variability and with state of the art methods.
The two vessel borders define the atheroma area of the vessel. In this area, tissue characterization is required. For this purpose, we present a framework for automatic plaque characterization by processing both texture in IVUS images and spectral information in raw Radio Frequency data. Furthermore, a novel method for fusing in-vivo and in-vitro IVUS data for plaque characterization is presented, namely pSFFS. The method demonstrates to effectively fuse data generating a classifier that improves the tissue characterization in both in-vitro and in-vivo datasets.
A novel method for automatic video summarization in IVUS sequences is also presented. The method aims to detect the key frames of the sequence, i.e., the frames representative of morphological changes. This novel method represents the basis for video summarization in IVUS as well as the markers for the partition of the vessel into morphological and clinically interesting events.
Finally, multi-class learning based on ECOC is applied to lung tissue characterization in Computed Tomography. The novel proposed approach, based on supervised and unsupervised learning, achieves accurate tissue classification on a large and heterogeneous dataset.

Abstract: In the recent years commercial eye-tracking hardware has become more common, with the introduction of new models from several brands that have better performance and easier setup procedures. A cause and at the same time a result of this phenomenon is the popularity of eye-tracking research directed at marketing, accessibility and usability, among others.
One problem with these hardware components is scalability, because both the price and the necessary expertise to operate them makes it practically impossible in the large scale. In this work, we analyze the feasibility of a software eye-tracking system based on a single, ordinary webcam. Our aim is to discover the limits of such a system and to see whether it provides acceptable performances.
The significance of this setup is that it is the most common setup found in consumer environments, off-the-shelf electronic devices such as laptops, mobile phones and tablet computers. As no special equipment such as infrared lights, mirrors or zoom lenses are used; setting up and calibrating the system is easier compared to other approaches using these components.
Our work is based on the open source application Opengazer, which provides a good starting point for our contributions. We propose several improvements in order to push the system's performance further and make it feasible as a robust, real-time device. Then we carry out an elaborate experiment involving 18 human subjects and 4 different system setups. Finally, we give an analysis of the results and discuss the effects of setup changes, subject differences and modifications in the software.