Automation in experiments carried out on animals is getting more and more important in research. Computers take over laborious and time-consuming activities like recording and analysing images of the experiment scene. The first step in an image analysis is finding and distinguishing between the observed animals and then tracking all objects during the experiment. In this paper four tracking methods are presented. Quantitative and qualitative figures of merit are applied to confront those methods. The comparison takes into consideration the level of correct object recognition during different disturbances, the speed of computation, requirements as to the frame rate and image illumination, quality of recovering from occluded situations and others.
The paper presents the family of three analyzers allowing to measure impedance in the range of 10 Ω<|Zx|<10 GΩ in a wide frequency range from 10 mHz up to 100 kHz. The most important features of the analyzer family are: miniaturization, low power consumption, low production cost, telemetric controlling and the use of an impedance measurement method based on digital signal processing (DSP). The miniaturization and other above-mentioned features of the analyzers were obtained thanks to the use of the newest generation of large-scale integration chips: e.g. “system on a chip” microsystems (AD5933), 32-bit AVR32-family microcontrollers and specialized modules for wireless communication using the ZigBee standard. When comparing metrological parameters, the developed instrumentation can equal portable analyzers offered by top worldwide manufacturers (Gamry, Ivium) but outperforms them on smaller dimensions, weight, a few times lower price and the possibility to work in a distributed telemetric network. All analyzer versions are able to be put into medium-volume production.
A modification of the descriptor in a human detector using Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) is presented. The proposed modification requires inserting the values of average cell brightness resulting in the increase of the descriptor length from 3780 to 3908 values, but it is easy to compute and instantly gives ≈ 25% improvement of the miss rate at 10‒4 False Positives Per Window (FPPW). The modification has been tested on two versions of HOG-based descriptors: the classic Dalal-Triggs and the modified one, where, instead of spatial Gaussian masks for blocks, an additional central cell has been used. The proposed modification is suitable for hardware implementations of HOG-based detectors, enabling an increase of the detection accuracy or resignation from the use of some hardware-unfriendly operations, such as a spatial Gaussian mask. The results of testing its influence on the brightness changes of test images are also presented. The descriptor may be used in sensor networks equipped with hardware acceleration of image processing to detect humans in the images.
The cyclic modular approach is proposed for mechatronic object design. The approach is based on a new conceptual model of the object and a new algorithm of its design. The model consists of invariant and changeable parts. The parts have a hierarchical structure. The proposed algorithm allows for creating the object from the basis principle to the construction step by step. It makes it possible to design an adequate object in all forms of its representations: structure, schematic diagram, mathematical model and construction. Each of these forms has an invariant part, i.e. the structure of the functioning process of the object. Application of the proposed approach reduces the time needed for the object design.
This paper proposes a method for offline accurate ball tracking for short volleyball actions in sport halls. Our aim is to detect block touches on the ball and to determinate accurate trajectory and impact positions of the ball to support referees. The proposed method is divided into two stages, namely training and ball tracking, and is based on background subtraction. Application of the Gaussian mixture model has been used to estimate a background, and a high-speed camera with a capture rate of 180 frames per second and a resolution of 1920 × 1080 are used for motion capture. In sport halls significant differences in light intensity occur between each sequence frame. To minimize the influence of these light changes, an additional model is created and template matching is used for accurate determination of ball positions when the ball contour in the foreground image is distorted. We show that this algorithm is more accurate than other methods used in similar systems. Our light intensity change model eliminates almost all pixels added to images of moving objects owing to sudden changes in intensity. The average accuracy achieved in the validation process is of 0.57 pixel. Our algorithm accurately determined 99.8% of all ball positions from 2000 test frames, with 25.4 ms being the average time for a single frame analysis. The algorithm presented in this paper is the first stage of referee support using a system of many cameras and 3D trajectories.
Perception takes into account the costs and benefits of possible interpretations of incoming sensory data. This should be especially pertinent for threat recognition, where minimising the costs associated with missing a real threat is of primary importance. We tested whether recognition of threats has special characteristics that adapt this process to the task it fulfils. Participants were presented with images of threats and visually matched neutral stimuli, distorted by varying levels of noise. We found threat superiority effect and liberal response bias. Moreover, increasing the level of noise degraded the recognition of the neutral images to higher extent than the threatening images. To summarise, recognising threats is special, in that it is more resistant to noise and decline in stimulus quality, suggesting that threat recognition is a fast ‘all or nothing’ process, in which threat presence is either confirmed or negated.
The paper puts forward a method of designing and creating a complete computer system for monitoring and diagnosis of business and industrial facilities, as well as for control purposes. The proposed solution represents a computer-network system being a practical tool for communication, control and management of modern plants and enterprises. The applied concept of communication, based on the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), makes a new attempt to solve certain performance problems met when using a (previously developed) Networked Object Monitor (NOM). The principal idea of increasing the performance of NOM lies in employing a common data bus, refereed to as a Diagnostic Service Bus (DSB), in the NOM monitor. The paper also describes a preliminary concept of a network description language (SMOL), which is designed to describe the functions, mechanisms, and network devices and to be a basis for simulation and verification of the NOMmonitor function.
The article presents a brief exposition of alternative ways of creating virtual objects and the status of their existence inspired by the relevant views of Plato, Aristotle, Franz Brentano and Karl Popper as well as various conceptions of representation. I argue that the present state of research on the problem of “computer” virtuality shows that it is necessary to explore first the ontological issues of virtual objects. Only these issues will solve the mystery of the creation and existence of virtual objects. The consideration of these issues are suppressed by the fact that contemporary philosophy has removed both metaphysics and, with-it, ontology. That is why, and for reasons for reasons of substantive accuracy, I show how traditional ontological and ontologically inspiring approaches are—when modified— promising candidates for exploring the nature of virtual objects, first of all, problems of their existence and creation.
In the second part of the article, the history of standardization programmes concerning the names of physiographic objects is discussed. The basis of the standardization programme currently followed by the Commission on Names of Localities and Physiographic Objects is described. The paper also presents the criteria of linguistic correctness adopted by the previous standardization commissions as well as by the present one. Issues of linguistic correctness of geographical names with dialectal properties and of names borrowed from minority languages are discussed. Attention is paid to some structural discrepancies in the approaches to the issue of correctness taken by the Commission on Names of Localities and Physiographic Objects and by local authorities.
Polish microtoponyms, as they were used in the middle 20th century, are known today mainly thanks to a field names-gathering action probably initiated in 1954 and finished as late as in 1970, carried out by Polish linguists from Krakow, Warsaw, Łódź, Wrocław, Toruń, Lublin and Poznań. The present paper tries to reconstruct its process and the fate of the collected materials, which served as the basis for the incomplete series “Official names of localities and physiographical objects” published in 142 county fascicles between 1963 and 1975. While part of them have been saved and are being published on a digital platform, a lot of information has been irretrievably lost due to the carelessness of its depositaries.
This paper presents results of object-oriented classification of Landsat ETM+ satellite im-age conducted using eCognition software. The classified image was acquired on 7 May 2000. In this particular study, an area of 423 km2 within the borders of Legionowo Community near Warsaw is considered.
Prior to classification, segmentation of the Landsat ETM+ image is performed using panchro-matic channel, fused multispectral and panchromatic data. The applied methods of classification en-abled the identification of 18 land cover and land use classes. After the classification, generalization and raster to vector conversion, verification and accuracy assessment are performed by means of vis-ual interpretation. Overall accuracy of the classification reached 94.6%. The verification and classifi-cation results are combined to form the final database.
This is followed by comparing the object-oriented with traditional pixel-based classification. The latter is performed using the so-called hybrid classification based on both supervised and unsuper-vised classification approaches. The traditional pixel-based approach identified only 8 classes. Com-parison of the pixel-based classification with the database obtained using the object-oriented ap-proach revealed that the former reached 72% and 61% accuracy, according to the applied method.
Gaston Milhaud rejects the principle of contradiction if it is conceived as an absolute and universal rule. He claims that it only holds in some narrowly defined circumstances. According to him, the greater is mental contribution to an act of cognition the more appropriate is the application of the principle of contradiction. My analysis of his views shows that he wanted to emphasize the differences between the objective reality and its mental or linguistic representations rather than undermine the logical principle of contradiction. Parallels can be noted between Milhaud’s views on contradiction and Leon Chwistek’s theory of the multiplicity of realities, as well as Kazimierz Ajdukiewicz’s concept of the cognitive role of language.
In the opinion of Bogusław Wolniewicz (1927–2017), Wittgenstein in his Tractatus presented a new metaphysics – a modern ‘metaphysics of facts’, in opposition to the traditional ‘metaphysics of substance’ (Aristotle) or to the ‘metaphysics of things’ (Tadeusz Kotarbiński’s ‘reism’). The new metaphysics describes, just like the old ones did, the structure of the world. First, it refers to the world as a whole, seeing in it an actualization of one of numerous possible worlds. It also refers to the elementary unit of world-structure, which is an ‘atomic fact’ (an independent unit, though at the same time not the simplest one, since it involves further ‘simple objects’). Those concepts of ‘world’, ‘atom’ and ‘possible beings’ make the system of Tractatus ‘metaphysics’, comparable to the Aristotle’s metaphysics of ‘form’ and ‘matter’. In Tractatus, the Aristotelian ‘matter’ turns into ‘simple objects’, while ‘form’ becomes a form of ‘fact’. In this view, the world is conceived as a set of facts and equals a particular choice made from the universe of possible situations. But one element is missing in Wittgenstein’s system, namely, the ‘efficient cause’ responsible for the choice of facts (actualization of possibilities). Leibniz believed there was a ‘sufficient reason’ why a particular choice was made among possible situations and one possible world has become real. This ‘sufficient reason’ finally turned out to be God’s rational will. In Wolniewicz’s late philosophy however, the ‘efficient cause’ is only ‘fate’ or ‘chance’ (τύχη). Fate is therefore the mysterious deus absconditus of Wittgenstein’s metaphysics.
This article concerns church monuments, which are part of the cultural heritage of Dukla. This is a town with medieval origins, located within the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, in the Krosno district. In the past it was an important centre of commerce on the Hungarian Route. Merchant traditions in Dukla are mainly associated with trade and storage of wine, which was kept in the cellars under the main market square in Dukla. Because of the rank, which the town used to have in the past, it can boast numerous monuments including objects associated with the administrative, commercial and economic functions of the town, as well as — or perhaps primarily — sacred objects. Among the latter, one has to mention firstly the parish church of St Mary Magdalene, the church and monastery complex of the Bernardine Order, and the synagogue of the Jewish community, that once used to live in Dukla. Those objects, their cultural value and issues related to their protection constitute the subject of this study.
According to Nicolai Hartmann, the correlativistic prejudice is the claim that a being must be a correlate of a subject, and this, he argues, is the main prejudice of Husserl’s phenomenology taken as an eidetic science of transcendental consciousness with its correlates. In contrast to Hartmann, the author of this article claims that Husserl’s conception of the noetic-noematic correlation does not lead to the correlativistic prejudice. Husserl distinguishes between two concepts of object: the noematic ‛object simpliciter’ (the pure X) and the ‛object in the How of its determinations’ (a noematic sense), and he demonstrates that the noematic ‛object simpliciter’ transcends the limit of actual noetic-noematic correlation, it is a correlate of the Idea in the Kantian sense of the term and this idea cannot be intrinsically given in its content. In the article the author shows that Husserl’s concept of the noematic ‘object simpliciter’ as a pure X is similar to Kant’s concept of transcendental object as ‛something in general = X’. In analogy to a transcendental object, noematic ‛object simpliciter’ is partially knowable and it appears to be an irrational fact in its unknowable rest. As a consequence, the ‛object simpliciter’ is something more than a correlate of consciousness and retains always its extra-noematic content. Therefore, the world is only partially correlative to the possibility of experience.