Computer Vision is a field in Computer Science that allows a computer to “see”. For my bachelors thesis I researched how tools can make these powerful yet complex technologies accessible to a broader audience. Allowing anybody to use such technologies can amplify their ideas and lead to a new generation of applications.
Practical use cases of Computer Vision include detection of tumors in medical images or improving photos taken in space. Fascinated by these applications, I majored in that field and explored new possibilities with projects such as Durchblick (a virtual reality tag cloud with face recognition) or LightDetector (an algorithm that transforms light into sound for the blind). A big part of the work was studying the theory enabling these applications such as Digital Signal Processing (DSP). To aid students in understanding these concepts my advisor developed a Windows tool used in classes called ImagePlay.
The goal of my thesis ImagePlay on iPad was to research how to bring it to new platforms where any user could directly manipulate Computer Vision processing blocks with a touch interface to prototype their own applications. An abstracted and extensible plug-in architecture allows students without any prior platform knowledge to develop and share new processes.
The result was a publication and a new node-based visual programming environment for image processing including:
- Input processes (asset library, device camera)
- Core processes (pixel conversion and arithmetic)
- Extensible architecture to build processes (geometry, morphology, classifiers, etc.)
- Output processes (viewers, file writers)
- Saving, loading, and sharing of process grid files
Raphael Schaad, Bern University of Applied Sciences Engineering and Information Technology (BFH-TI) Advisor: Prof. Roger Cattin, Computer Perception and Virtual Reality Lab, BFH-TI Industry Expert: Peter Matti, Pronik AG
Presentation & Exhibition: Feb. 11-12 2011 at BFH in Bern, Switzerland Publication: Raphael Schaad, ImagePlay on iPad, BFH-TI Book, 2011
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