1.

An Efficient and Robust Algorithm for Shape Indexing and Retrieval

ABSTRACT:

Many shape matching methods are either fast but too simplistic to give the desired
performance or promising as far as performance is concerned but computationally
demanding. In this paper, we present a very simple and efficient approach that not
only performs almost as good as many state-of-the-art techniques but also scales
up to large databases. In the proposed approach, each shape is indexed based on a
variety of simple and easily computable features which are invariant to
articulations, rigid transformations, etc. The features characterize pairwise
geometric relationships between interest points on the shape. The fact that each
shape is represented using a number of distributed features instead of a single
global feature that captures the shape in its entirety provides robustness to the
approach. Shapes in the database are ordered according to their similarity with the
query shape and similar shapes are retrieved using an efficient scheme which does
not involve costly operations like shape-wise alignment or establishing
correspondences. Depending on the application, the approach can be used directly
for matching or as a first step for obtaining a short list of candidate shapes for more
rigorous matching.We show that the features proposed to perform shape indexing
can be used to perform the rigorous matching as well, to further improve the
retrieval performance. To illustrate the computational and performance advantages
of the proposed approach, extensive experiments have been performed on several
challenging problems that involve matching shapes. We also highlight the
effectiveness of the approach to perform robust and efficient shape matching in
real images and videos for different applications like human pose estimation and
activity classification.
 2. A Stochastic Approach to Image Retrieval Using Relevance Feedback
and Particle Swarm Optimization

ABSTRACT:

Understanding the subjective meaning of a visual query, by converting it into

numerical parameters that can be extracted and compared by a computer, is the
paramount challenge in the field of intelligent image retrieval, also referred to as
the “semantic gap” problem. In this paper, an innovative approach is proposed that
combines a relevance feedback (RF) approach with an evolutionary stochastic
algorithm, called particle swarm optimizer (PSO), as a way to grasp user’s
semantics through optimized iterative learning. The retrieval uses human
interaction to achieve a twofold goal: 1) to guide the swarm particles in the
exploration of the solution space towards the cluster of relevant images; 2) to
dynamically modify the feature space by appropriately weighting the descriptive
features according to the users’ perception of relevance. Extensive simulations
showed that the proposed technique outperforms traditional deterministic RF
approaches of the same class, thanks to its stochastic nature, which allows a better
exploration of complex, nonlinear, and highly-dimensional solution spaces.
 3. A Lightweight SCTP for Partially Reliable Overlay Video Multicast
Service for Mobile Terminals

Abstract

In this article, a video multicast protocol for multi homed mobile terminals is
proposed as an alternative stream control transmission protocol (SCTP) for
partially reliable multicast services. It works with overlay peer-to-peer video
multicast facility in the application layer. For a multi-homed mobile terminal, an
error burst may occur when a handover is in process in the primary path switching
procedure. The key issue concerned in this protocol is the ability to predict packet
loss and to retransmit the lost packets as soon as a mobile terminal completes its
primary path switching procedure. This property controls the delay sensitivity of
transmissions. Conversely, the protocol can tolerate partial loss in video
transmission as long as the loss is limited to a relatively short error burst. In
addition, it reduces the message overhead significantly and provides a scalable
communication mechanism for multicast applications. The performance
improvement of the proposed protocol comes from (i) the estimation of temporal
velocity of mobile terminals with lost packet prediction in a long error burst, and
(ii) the requirement for each mobile terminal to indicate which packets can be
safely discarded from its agent.
 4. A Framework of Enhancing Image Steganography With Picture Quality
Optimization and Anti-Steganalysis Based on Simulated Annealing
Algorithm

ABSTRACT:

Picture quality and statistical undetectability are two key issues related to
steganography techniques. In this paper, we propose a closed-loop computing
framework that iteratively searches proper modifications of pixels/coefficients to
enhance a base steganographic scheme with optimized picture quality and higher
anti-steganalysis capability. To achieve this goal, an anti-steganalysis tester and an
embedding controller—based on the simulated annealing (SA) algorithm with a
proper cost function—are incorporated into the processing loop to conduct the
convergence of searches. The cost function integrates several performance indices,
namely, the mean square error, the human visual system (HVS) deviation, and the
differences in statistical features, and guides a proper direction of searches during
SA optimization. Our proposed framework is suitable for the kind
of steganographic schemes that spreads each message information into multiple
pixels/coefficients. We have selected two base steganographic schemes for
implementation to show the applicability of the proposed framework. Experiment
results show that the base schemes can be enhanced with better performances in
image PSNR (by more than 5.0 dB), file-size variation, and anti-steganalysis pass-
rate (by about 10% 86%, at middle to
high embedding capacities).
 5. A Real-Time Framework for Video Time and Pitch Scale Modification

ABSTRACT:

A framework is presented which addresses the issues related to the real-time

implementation of synchronized video and audio time-scale and pitch-scale
modification algorithms. It allows for seamless real-time transition between
continually varying, independent time-scale and pitch-scale parameters arising as a
result of manual or automatic intervention. We illuminate the problems which arise
in a real-time context as well as provide novel solutions to prevent artifacts,
minimize latency, and improve synchronization.The time and pitch scaling
approach is based on a modified
phase vocoder with optional phase locking and an integrated transient
detector which enables high-quality transient preservation in real-time.Anovel
method for audio/visual synchronization was implemented
in order to ensure no perceptible latency between audio and video while real-time
time scaling and pitch shifting is applied.Evaluation results are reported which
demonstrate both high audio quality and minimal synchronization error.