An Effective Surface Modeling Method for Car Styling from a Side-View Image

We introduce an almost-automatic technique for generating 3D car styling surface models based on a single side-view image. Our approach combines the prior knowledge of car styling and deformable curve network model to obtain an automatic modeling process. Firstly, we define the consistent parameterized curve template for 2D and 3D case respectivelyby analyzingthe characteristic lines for car styling. Then, a semi-automatic extraction from a side-view car image is adopted. Thirdly, statistic morphable model of 3D curve network isused to get the initial solution with sparse point constraints.Withonly afew post-processing operations, the optimized curve network models for creating surfaces are obtained. Finally, the styling surfaces are automatically generated using template-based parametric surface modeling method. More than 50 3D curve network models are constructed as the morphable database. We show that this intelligent modeling toolsimplifiesthe exhausted modeling task, and also demonstratemeaningful results of our approach.     

Reflection and Refraction on Implicit Surfaces

Implicit surfaces are often used in computer graphics. They can be easily modeled and rendered, and many objects are composed of them in our daily life. In this paper, based on the concept of virtual objects, a novel method of real-time rendering is presented for reflection and refraction on implicit surface. The method is used to construct virtual objects from real objects quickly, and then render the virtual objects as if they were real objects except for one more step of merging their images with the real objects＇ images. Characteristics of implicit surfaces are used to compute virtual objects effectively and quickly. GPUs （Graphics Processing Units） are used to compute virtual vertices quickly and further accelerate the computing and rendering processes. As a result, realistic effects of reflections and refractions on implicit surfaces are rendered in real time.     

A New Local Control Spline with Shape Parameters for CAD/CAM

Anew local control spline based on shape parameterw with G^3 continuity,called BLC-spline,is pro* posed.Not only is BLC-spline very smoot,but also the spline curve‘s characteristic polygon has only three control vertices,and the characteristic polyhedron has only nine control vertices.The behavior of Iocal control of BLC-spline is better than that of the other splines such as cubic Bezier,B and Beta-spline.The three shape parameters β0，β1and β2 of BLC-spline,which are independent of the control vertices,may be altered to change the shape of the curve or surface.It is shown that BLC-spline may be used to construcet a space are spline for DNC machining directly.That is a powerful tool for the design and manufacture of curves and surfaces in integrated CAD/CAM systems.     

Preface

In recent years,due to the rapid development of 3D shape scanning techniques,point set and mesh-based model have become the most popular representation for objects with complex shape.Considerable amount of research work is focused on digital geometry and its processing.This special section collects 8 papers addressing respectively the topics of mesh parameterization,shape deformation,model error correction,visual difference analysis as well as modeling with subdivision surfaces and warping surfaces.     

Nondeterministic Probabilistic Petri Net — A New Method to Study Qualitative and Quantitative Behaviors of System

There are many variants of Petri net at present,and some of them can be used to model system with both function and performance specification,such as stochastic Petri net,generalized stochastic Petri net and probabilistic Petri net.In this paper,we utilize extended Petri net to address the issue of modeling and verifying system with probability and nondeterminism besides function aspects.Using probabilistic Petri net as reference,we propose a new mixed model NPPN(Nondeterministic Probabilistic Petri Net) system,which can model and verify systems with qualitative and quantitative behaviours.Then we develop a kind of process algebra for NPPN system to interpret its algebraic semantics,and an actionbased PCTL(Probabilistic Computation Tree Logic) to interpret its logical semantics.Afterwards we present the rules for compositional operation of NPPN system based on NPPN system process algebra,and the model checking algorithm based on the action-based PCTL.In order to put the NPPN system into practice,we develop a friendly and visual tool for modeling,analyzing,simulating,and verifying NPPN system using action-based PCTL.The usefulness and effectiveness of the NPPN system are illustrated by modeling and model checking an elaborate model of travel arrangements workflow.     

Automatic modeling of virtual humans and body clothing

Highly realistic virtual human models are rapidly becoming commonplace in computer graphics. These models, often represented by complex shape and requiring labor-intensive process, challenge the problem of automatic modeling. The problem and solutions to automatic modeling of animatable virtual humans are studied. Methods for capturing the shape of real people, parameterization techniques for modeling static shape (the variety of human body shapes) and dynamic shape (how the body shape changes as it moves) of virtual humans are classified, summarized and compared. Finally, methods for clothed virtual humans are reviewed.     

Geometric Properties of Ribs and Fans of a Bezier Curve

Ribs and fans are interesting geometric entities that are derived from a given Bezier curve or surface based on the recent theory of rib and fan decomposition. In this paper, we present some of new geometric properties of ribs and fans for a Bezier curve including composite fans, rib-invariant deformation, and fan-continuity in subdivision. We also give some examples for the presented properties.     

A unified algorithm for finding the intersection curve of surfaces

In this papaer,an INTEGRAL CURVE ALGORITHM is presented,which turns the intersection curve of surfaces into the form of integral one and then uses “PREDICTORCORRECTOR” technique to evaluate the intersection of surfaces.No matter how the surfaces are defined,the method always deals with the intersection curves in the same way.To find a point on the curve one need only to calculate the JACOBI determinants of “PREDICTOR point”and “CORRECTOR point” while the second order precision is guatanteed.Thus,not only is the problem of finding the intersection of surfaces resolved,but also the algorithms for generating both plane curve and space curve are unified.     

Gesture Recognition Summarization

Gesture recognition is an important research in the field of human-computer interaction. Hand Gestures are strong variable and flexible, so the gesture recognition has always been an important challenge for the researchers. In this paper, we first outlined the development of gestures recognition, and different classification of gestures based on different purposes. Then we respectively introduced common methods used in the process of gesture segmentation, feature extraction and recognition. Finally, the gesture recognition was summarized and the studying prospects were given.     

Improvement of energy model based on cubic interpolation curve

In CAGD and CG,energy model is often used to control the curves and surfaces shape.In curve/surface modeling,we can get fair curve/surface by minimizing the energy of curve/surface.However,our research indicates that in some cases we can’t get fair curves/surface using the current energy model.So an improved energy model is presented in this paper.Examples are also included to show that fair curves can be obtained using the improved energy model.     

Geometric Modelling by Recursively Cutting Vertices

In this paper,a new method for curve and surface modelling is introduced which generates curves and surfaces by recursively cutting and grinding polygons and polyhedra.It is a generalization of the existing corner-cutting methods.A lot of properties,such as geometric continuity,representation,shape-preserving,and the algorithm are studied which show that such curves and surfaces are suitable for geometric designs in CAD,computer graphics and their application fields.     

A Survey on Partial Retrieval of 3D Shapes

Content-based shape retrieval techniques can facilitate 3D model resource reuse, 3D model modeling, object recognition, and 3D content classification.Recently more and more researchers have attempted to solve the problems of partial retrieval in the domain of computer graphics, vision, CAD, and multimedia.Unfortunately, in the literature, there is little comprehensive discussion on the state-of-the-art methods of partial shape retrieval.In this article we focus on reviewing the partial shape retrieval methods over the last decade, and help novices to grasp latest developments in this field.We first give the definition of partial retrieval and discuss its desirable capabilities.Secondly, we classify the existing methods on partial shape retrieval into three classes by several criteria, describe the main ideas and techniques for each class, and detailedly compare their advantages and limits.We also present several relevant 3D datasets and corresponding evaluation metrics, which are necessary for evaluating partial retrieval performance.Finally, we discuss possible research directions to address partial shape retrieval.     

Uniform modeling of parameter dependent nonlinear systems

This paper addresses the problem of approximating parameter dependent nonlinear systems in a unified framework. This modeling has been presented for the first time in the form of parameter dependent piecewise affine systems. In this model, the matrices and vectors defining piecewise affine systems are affine functions of parameters. Modeling of the system is done based on distinct spaces of state and parameter, and the operating regions are partitioned into the sections that we call ’multiplied simplices’. It is proven that this method of partitioning leads to less complexity of the approximated model compared with the few existing methods for modeling of parameter dependent nonlinear systems. It is also proven that the approximation is continuous for continuous functions and can be arbitrarily close to the original one. Next, the approximation error is calculated for a special class of parameter dependent nonlinear systems. For this class of systems, by solving an optimization problem, the operating regions can be partitioned into the minimum number of hyper-rectangles such that the modeling error does not exceed a specified value. This modeling method can be the first step towards analyzing the parameter dependent nonlinear systems with a uniform method.     

High-performance low-leakage regions of nano-scaled CMOS digital gates under variations of threshold voltage and mobility

We propose a modeling methodology for both leakage power consumption and delay of basic CMOS digital gates in the presence of threshold voltage and mobility variations. The key parameters in determining the leakage and delay are OFF and ON currents, respectively, which are both affected by the variation of the threshold voltage. Additionally, the current is a strong function of mobility. The proposed methodology relies on a proper modeling of the threshold voltage and mobility variations, which may be induced by any source. Using this model, in the plane of threshold voltage and mobility, we determine regions for different combinations of performance (speed) and leakage. Based on these regions, we discuss the trade-off between leakage and delay where the leakage-delay-product is the optimization objective. To assess the accuracy of the proposed model, we compare its predictions with those of HSPICE simulations for both basic digital gates and ISCAS85 benchmark circuits in 45-, 65-, and 90-nm technologies.     

Generalized Moment Theorem and Its Application to Distributed-Parameter Control Systems

In this paper, we generalize the original moment theorem to the problem of existence of a linear operator with minimum norm under some constraint conditions in an abstract normed space. The results are applied to a class of largest controllable set and optimal control problems for distributed parameter systems.     

A Multi-Channel Salience Based Detail Exaggeration Technique for 3D Relief Surfaces

Visual saliency can always persuade the viewer’s visual attention to fine-scale mesostructure of 3D complex shapes.Owing to the multi-channel salience measure and salience-domain shape modeling technique,a novel visual saliency based shape depiction scheme is presented to exaggerate salient geometric details of the underlying relief surface.Our multi-channel salience measure is calculated by combining three feature maps,i.e.,the 0-order feature map of local height distribution,the 1-order feature map of normal difference,and the 2-order feature map of mean curvature variation.The original relief surface is firstly manipulated by a salience-domain enhancement function,and the detail exaggeration surface can then be obtained by adjusting the surface normals of the original surface as the corresponding final normals of the manipulated surface.The advantage of our detail exaggeration technique is that it can adaptively alter the shading of the original shape to reveal visually salient features whilst keeping the desired appearance unimpaired.The experimental results demonstrate that our non-photorealistic shading scheme can enhance the surface mesostructure effectively and thus improving the shape depiction of the relief surfaces.     

Height and attitude active disturbance rejection controller design of a small-scale helicopter

Small-scale helicopters are very attractive because of their unique features.However,autonomous flight control for small-scale helicopters is still a challenging work because they are naturally unstable,strongly nonlinear,and sensitive to disturbances.In this paper,we focus on the design of a height and attitude active disturbance rejection controller(ADRC)for a small-scale helicopter constructed in our lab.Firstly,a comprehensive nonlinear model for the platform is presented,which is obtained through first principles modeling and system identification.The controller is designed using backstepping technique incorporated with extended state observer(ESO),which is used to estimate the unknown disturbances.Then,the estimate is introduced into the control law to compensate for the disturbances.The design specifications of military rotorcraft are introduced to guide the controller design to achieve specified control performance.Considering the physical limitations,reference models are designed to shape the desired control responses.At last,several flight simulations are carried out to validate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed controller.The results show that the proposed controller works well and Level 1 performance can be achieved.