Scans pick up object orientation

February 25/March 3, 2004

It only seems easy to recognize a familiar face -- or any other object, for that matter -- from any angle. Pattern recognition is difficult for computers, but has many potential uses in areas like manufacturing and security.

Researchers from the University of Valencia in Spain have improved the process with a method of mapping three-dimensional objects in a way that records every possible point of view of the object. Because the method produces a map that contains the information of the object from every point of view it allows objects to be recognized from a wider range of views.

The method could be used to inspect the orientation and shapes of manufactured goods, and also for face recognition, according to the researchers.

The researchers' method calls for scanning objects from every angle using a range finder that maps the peaks and valleys of the object's surfaces. A later scan from one angle can be compared to this mapped to determine the orientation of the object regardless of the object's orientation or scale, according to the researchers.

Similar methods have been able to detect object orientation from a limited number of angles, according to the researchers. The key to detecting object orientation from every angle was mathematically converting the three-dimensional scan map to a series of points on a sphere.

The method could be used practically in two to five years, according to the researchers. The work appeared in the December 15, 2003 issue of Optics Express.


Page One

Ethanol yields hydrogen

Biochip makes droplet test tubes

Model keeps virtual eyes right

Simple optics make quantum relay

Briefs:
Hot tip boosts disk capacity
Nanotubes boost shape recovery
Nanowires spot DNA mutation
Scans pick up object orientation
Nanotube mix makes liquid crystal
Film promises terabit storage

Research Watch blog

View from the High Ground Q&A
How It Works

RSS Feeds:
News  | Blog

Ad links:
Buy an ad link


Advertisements:



Ad links: Clear History

Buy an ad link

 
Home     Archive     Resources    Feeds     Glossary
TRN Finder     Research Dir.    Events Dir.      Researchers     Bookshelf
   Contribute      Under Development     T-shirts etc.     Classifieds


© Copyright Technology Research News, LLC 2000-2010. All rights reserved.