1,720,964 research outputs found

    Analysis of tristimulus interdifference and contextual color correction

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    We explore how an RGB representation can be computed from a spectral description of real images, with many different colors. To pass from spectral distribution to tristimulus values, several color-matching functions (CMFs) were proposed, derived from experimental setups with simplified visual conditions, considering the colors pointwise and independently from any visual context. A high interdifference is observed in cone spatial distribution between human subjects, without any corresponding significant difference in final color sensation. It is likely that a spatial compensation is performed by human observers that strongly decreases the subjectivity in color perception, and we ask if a similar principle should be considered in digital imaging. We investigate the interdifference among some CMFs when used to compute color information in complex visual conditions, where multiple, spatially distributed different colors are present. This is relevant in synthetic image generation of scenes under different illuminants, computed at the spectral energy distribution at 5-nm intervals, to be converted into RGB for monitor display. The analysis of the interdifference among tristimulus colors obtained using different CMFs shows a significant decrease of the interdifference when a contextual color correction is applied, based on Von Kries or Retinex methods

    A novel approach to visual rendering of astro-photographs

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    When we perform a visual analysis of a cosmic object photograph the contrast plays a fundamental role. A linear distribution of the observable values is not necessarily the best possible for the Human Visual System (HVS). In fact HVS has a non-linear response, and exploits contrast locally with different stretching for different lightness areas. As a consequence, according to the observation task, local contrast can be adjusted to make easier the detection of relevant information. The proposed approach is based on Spatial Color Algorithms (SCA) that mimic the HVS behavior. These algorithms compute each pixel value by a spatial comparison with all (or a subset of) the other pixels of the image. The comparison can be implemented as a weighted difference or as a ratio product over given sampling in the neighbor region. A final mapping allows exploiting all the available dynamic range. In the case of color images SCA process separately the three chromatic channels producing an effect of color normalization, without introducing channel cross correlation. We will present very promising results on amateur photographs of deep sky objects. The results are presented for a qualitative and subjective visual evaluation and for a quantitative evaluation through image quality measures, in particular to quantify the effect of algorithms on the noise. Moreover our results help to better characterize contrast measures

    Virtual reality as a communication process

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    In this work, we consider immersive Virtual Reality (VR) as a communication process between humans, mediated by computer systems, which uses interaction, visualization, and other sensory stimuli to convey information. From this viewpoint, it is relevant to understand how VR can solve a given communication problem, what is therefore the expressive power of VR system, i.e., its ability in establishing the communication, what are the guidelines to design an effective system, and what are the more relevant models of VR applications. Firstly, we try to clarify the notion of reality in Virtual Reality systems and conclude that reality is not an intrinsic characteristic of VR, rather the result of a conventional way of coding information. The purpose of coding is to lead the observer to the conclusion that the VR set is what is called in italian as verisimile (from Latin veri similis), i.e., “similar-to-the-real-thing”. So the creation of an effective VR application is an artifice or an illusion. But in order to avoid an over-reliance on the creativity of the VR designer, we intend to identify a solid ground on which different kinds of VR solutions can be considered in terms of their ability to solve the desired communication objective. To this aim, we will rely on methods derived from rhetoric to semiotics

    Semiotics of virtual reality as a communication process

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    The experience of immersive virtual reality (VR) can be considered as a communication process between human beings, mediated by computer systems, which uses visualisation and other sensory stimulation. In this paper, we analyse how VR characteristics can be explored using semiotic theory and, with methods of generative semiotics, we explore aspects of narrative and interaction in VR. We propose a semiotic analysis of VR communication focusing on syntax, semantics and pragmatics and considering also some principles of generative semiotics. The syntactic level is analysed as determined by the characteristics of the visual communication adopted. The semantic of VR is related to the functional model chosen to realise the virtual system. The pragmatic of VR is based on the human–computer interaction that changes the user's role. We explore how these aspects can be characterised in the context of VR communication design and what principles can be adopted for a VR application, and we present an analysis and a classification of the iconic signs that are being used in VR. Moreover, we present a framework that can be used to classify and describe different kinds of virtual reality systems and to better understand communication in VR, and we use it to classify eight popular systems for e-learning and collaboration

    Analysis of brain activity and response during monoscopic and stereoscopic visualization

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    Stereoscopic visualization in cinematography and Virtual Reality (VR) creates an illusion of depth by means of two bidimensional images corresponding to different views of a scene. This perceptual trick is used to enhance the emotional response and the sense of presence and immersivity of the observers. An interesting question is if and how it is possible to measure and analyze the level of emotional involvement and attention of the observers during a stereoscopic visualization of a movie or of a virtual environment. The research aims represent a challenge, due to the large number of sensorial, physiological and cognitive stimuli involved. In this paper we begin this research by analyzing possible differences in the brain activity of subjects during the viewing of monoscopic or stereoscopic contents. To this aim, we have performed some preliminary experiments collecting electroencephalographic (EEG) data of a group of users using a Brain- Computer Interface (BCI) during the viewing of stereoscopic and monoscopic short movies in a VR immersive installation

    Random spray retinex: a new retinex implementation to investigate the local properties of the model

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    In order to investigate the local filtering behavior of the Retinex model, we propose a new implementation in which paths are replaced by 2-D pixel sprays, hence the name “random spray Retinex.” A peculiar feature of this implementation is the way its parameters can be controlled to perform spatial investigation. The parameters’ tuning is accomplished by an unsupervised method based on quantitative measures. This procedure has been validated via user panel tests. Furthermore, the spray approach has faster performances than the path-wise one. Tests and results are presented and discussed

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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