Low-cost sensor to detect overtaking based on optical flow

The automotive industry invests substantial amounts of money in driver-security and driver-assistance systems. We propose an overtaking detection system based on visual motion cues that combines feature extraction, optical flow, solid-objects segmentation and geometry filtering, working with a low-cost compact architecture based on one focal plane and an on-chip embedded processor. The processing is divided into two stages: firstly analog processing on the focal plane processor dedicated to image conditioning and relevant image-structure selection, and secondly, vehicle tracking and warning-signal generation by optical flow, using a simple digital microcontroller. Our model can detect an approaching vehicle (multiple-lane overtaking scenarios) and warn the driver about the risk of changing lanes. Thanks to the use of tightly coupled analog and digital processors, the system is able to perform this complex task in real time with very constrained computing resources. The proposed method has been validated with a sequence of more than 15,000 frames (90 overtaking maneuvers) and is effective under different traffic situations, as well as weather and illumination conditions.     

Engineered Multifunctional Albumin‐Decorated Porous Silicon Nanoparticles for FcRn Translocation of Insulin

The last decade has seen remarkable advances in the development of drug delivery systems as alternative to parenteral injection‐based delivery of insulin. Neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn)‐mediated transcytosis has been recently proposed as a strategy to increase the transport of drugs across the intestinal epithelium. FcRn‐targeted nanoparticles (NPs) could hijack the FcRn transcytotic pathway and cross the epithelial cell layer. In this study, a novel nanoparticulate system for insulin delivery based on porous silicon NPs is proposed. After surface conjugation with albumin and loading with insulin, the NPs are encapsulated into a pH‐responsive polymeric particle by nanoprecipitation. The developed NP formulation shows controlled size and homogeneous size distribution. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show successful encapsulation of the NPs into pH‐sensitive polymeric particles. No insulin release is detected at acidic conditions, but a controlled release profile is observed at intestinal pH. Toxicity studies show high compatibility of the NPs with intestinal cells. In vitro insulin permeation across the intestinal epithelium shows approximately fivefold increase when insulin is loaded into FcRn‐targeted NPs. Overall, these FcRn‐targeted NPs offer a toolbox in the development of targeted therapies for oral delivery of insulin.     

A versatile technology platform for microfluidic handling systems,part II: channel design and technology

Microfluidic devices often require channels of a specific size and shape. These devices are then made in a fabrication process that is often specialized to produce only those (and very similar) channels. As a result, devices requiring channels of different size and shape cannot easily be integrated on the same chip. This paper presents a method to fabricate microfluidic channels in a wide range of shape and size on the same chip by using a slit pattern through which the channels are etched. The fabrication process to fabricate these channels is discussed in detail, and an empirical model is presented to find the optimal slit pattern for a required size and shape. This part of the paper focusses on the channel design and fabrication. Details on the whole fabrication process and optional functionalization of the channels are presented in part I of this paper.     

Live delivery of neurosurgical operating theater experience in virtual reality

A system for assisting in microneurosurgical training and for delivering interactive mixed reality surgical experience live was developed and experimented in hospital premises. An interactive experience from the neurosurgical operating theater was presented together with associated medical content on virtual reality eyewear of remote users. Details of the stereoscopic 360‐degree capture, surgery imaging equipment, signal delivery, and display systems are presented, and the presence experience and the visual quality questionnaire results are discussed. The users reported positive scores on the questionnaire on topics related to the user experience achieved in the trial.     

Environmental aspects of metals removal from waters and gold recovery

Mining and metals processing are not invisible activities and are heavy industries, which require energy, water, chemicals, and land area. Recently more emphasis is given to environmental and societal aspects in mining and processing. Development of good practices with improved resource efficiency, new recovery methods and sustainability thinking are increasingly required. This work shows pH titration method for acid mine drainage (AMD) water incorporated with aqueous thermodynamic model for selective metals precipitation from complex solution. Also two examples on gold recovery methods from aqueous streams are shown: biosorption using fungal matter and solvent extraction using a task‐specific ionic liquid. By understanding chemical thermodynamics and natural phenomena, there is a better chance of developing solutions for environmental problems and new industrial processes. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 2739–2748, 2015     

Linking business and requirements engineering: is solution planning a missing activity in software product companies?

A strong link between strategy and product development is important, since companies need to select requirements for forthcoming releases. However, in practice, connecting requirements engineering (RE) and business planning is far from trivial. This paper describes the lessons learned from four software product companies that have recognized the need for more business-oriented long-term planning. The study was conducted using the action research approach. We identified five practices that seem to strengthen the link between business decisions and RE. These are (1) explicating the planning levels and time horizons; (2) separating the planning of products’ business goals from R&D resource allocation; (3) planning open-endedly with a pre-defined rhythm; (4) emphasizing whole-product thinking; and (5) making solution planning visible. To support whole-product thinking and solution planning, we suggest that companies create solution concepts. The purpose of the solution concept is to provide a big picture of the solution and guide RE activities.     

A method for sparse disparity densification using voting mask propagation

We describe a novel method for propagating disparity values using directional masks and a voting scheme. The driving force of the propagation direction is image gradient, making the process anisotropic, whilst ambiguities between propagated values are resolved using a voting scheme. This kind of anisotropic densification process achieves significant density enhancement at a very low error cost: in some cases erroneous disparities are voted out, resulting not only in a denser but also a more accurate final disparity map. Due to the simplicity of the method it is suitable for embedded implementation and can also be included as part of a system-on-chip (SOC). Therefore, it can be of great interest to the sector of the machine vision community that deals with embedded and/or real-time applications.     

On Design of Parallel Memory Access Schemes for Video Coding

Some of the modern powerful digital signal processors (DSPs) have byte-addressable internal data memory. This property is valuable especially in computationally demanding inter frame video encoding, where data accesses are typically unaligned according to word boundaries. The byte-addressable memory allows load or store command to start accessing from any byte-address, providing at most as many successive bytes from subsequent addresses as data bus can handle in parallel. Maybe the simplest way to construct such a byte-addressable memory is to use N 8-bit memory modules or banks to be accessed in parallel, when N is data bus width in bytes. However, in addition to byte-addressable subsequent bytes, memory consisting of parallel memory modules can provide much more versatile addressing capabilities with reasonable implementation cost. Versatile access formats can significantly reduce the need for data reordering in the register file. At first, we provide motivation for using parallel memory architecture with versatile access formats as an internal on-chip data memory of modern DSP. After this, notations are described and general view of parallel memory design is given. We propose some example parallel data memory architecture designs with data access formats especially helpful in H.263 encoding and MPEG-4 core profile motion and texture encoding. The examples are given for different data bus widths (16, 32, 64, and 128 bits). Finally, performance is shortly compared to other memory architectures and area, delay, and power figures are estimated.Jarno K. Tanskanen was born in Joensuu, Finland in 1975. He studied analog and digital electronics in the Department of Electrical Engineering, and computer architecture in the Department of Information Technology at Tampere University of Technology, where he received his M.Sc. degree in 1999. He is currently working as a research scientist in the Institute of Digital and Computer Systems at TUT. His Dr.Tech. research concerns parallel processing of video compression. jarno.tanskanen@tut.fiReiner Creutzburg received his Diploma in Mathematics in 1976 and attained his Ph.D. in Mathematics in 1984 from the Rostock University, Germany. Prof. Creutzburg has published 3 books, filed 2 patents, and produced approximately 100 articles, preprint, and conference papers. Professional Experience: Since 2000—Part-time Professor for Multimedia technology, Tampere University of Technology, Finland. Since 1992—Full-time Professor of Computer Science, Fachhochschule Brandenburg-University of Applied Sciences, Brandenburg, Germany. 1990 to 1992—Assistant Professor, University of Karlsruhe, Institute of Algorithms and Cognitive Systems, Germany. 1987 to 1989—Head of the Research Section Image Processing. 1986 to 1989—Founder and Head of the International Base Laboratory of Image Processing and Computer Graphics for East European countries at the Central Institute of Cybernetics and Information Processes of the Academy of Sciences (Berlin), Germany. 1976 to 1989—Researcher and Assistant Professor in various Universities and the Academy of Sciences, Central Institute of Cybernetics and Information, Berlin. creutzburg@fh-brandenburg.deJarkko T. Niittylahti was born in Orivesi, Finland, in 1962. He received the M.Sc, Lic.Tech, and Dr.Tech degrees at Tampere University of Technology (TUT) in 1988, 1992, and 1995, respectively. From 1987 to 1992, he was a researcher at TUT. In 1992–93, he was a researcher at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1993–95, he was with Nokia Consumer Electronics, Bochum, Germany, and in 1995–97 with Nokia Research Center, Tampere, Finland. In 1997–2000, he was a Professor at Signal Processing Laboratory, TUT, and in 2000–2002 at Institute of Digital and Computer Systems, TUT. Currently, he is a Docent of Digital Techniques at TUT and the managing director of Staselog Ltd. He is also a co-founder and President of Atostek Ltd. He is interested in designing digital systems and architectures. jarkko.niittylahti@tut.fi