Combating Bad Weather Part II

Combating Bad Weather Part II

Author: Sudipta Mukhopadhyay

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-05-31

Total Pages: 70

ISBN-13: 3031022521

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Every year lives and properties are lost in road accidents. About one-fourth of these accidents are due to low vision in foggy weather. At present, there is no algorithm that is specifically designed for the removal of fog from videos. Application of a single-image fog removal algorithm over each video frame is a time-consuming and costly affair. It is demonstrated that with the intelligent use of temporal redundancy, fog removal algorithms designed for a single image can be extended to the real-time video application. Results confirm that the presented framework used for the extension of the fog removal algorithms for images to videos can reduce the complexity to a great extent with no loss of perceptual quality. This paves the way for the real-life application of the video fog removal algorithm. In order to remove fog, an efficient fog removal algorithm using anisotropic diffusion is developed. The presented fog removal algorithm uses new dark channel assumption and anisotropic diffusion for the initialization and refinement of the airlight map, respectively. Use of anisotropic diffusion helps to estimate the better airlight map estimation. The said fog removal algorithm requires a single image captured by uncalibrated camera system. The anisotropic diffusion-based fog removal algorithm can be applied in both RGB and HSI color space. This book shows that the use of HSI color space reduces the complexity further. The said fog removal algorithm requires pre- and post-processing steps for the better restoration of the foggy image. These pre- and post-processing steps have either data-driven or constant parameters that avoid the user intervention. Presented fog removal algorithm is independent of the intensity of the fog, thus even in the case of the heavy fog presented algorithm performs well. Qualitative and quantitative results confirm that the presented fog removal algorithm outperformed previous algorithms in terms of perceptual quality, color fidelity and execution time. The work presented in this book can find wide application in entertainment industries, transportation, tracking and consumer electronics.


Combating Bad Weather Part I

Combating Bad Weather Part I

Author: Sudipta Mukhopadhyay

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-06-01

Total Pages: 79

ISBN-13: 3031022513

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Current vision systems are designed to perform in normal weather condition. However, no one can escape from severe weather conditions. Bad weather reduces scene contrast and visibility, which results in degradation in the performance of various computer vision algorithms such as object tracking, segmentation and recognition. Thus, current vision systems must include some mechanisms that enable them to perform up to the mark in bad weather conditions such as rain and fog. Rain causes the spatial and temporal intensity variations in images or video frames. These intensity changes are due to the random distribution and high velocities of the raindrops. Fog causes low contrast and whiteness in the image and leads to a shift in the color. This book has studied rain and fog from the perspective of vision. The book has two main goals: 1) removal of rain from videos captured by a moving and static camera, 2) removal of the fog from images and videos captured by a moving single uncalibrated camera system. The book begins with a literature survey. Pros and cons of the selected prior art algorithms are described, and a general framework for the development of an efficient rain removal algorithm is explored. Temporal and spatiotemporal properties of rain pixels are analyzed and using these properties, two rain removal algorithms for the videos captured by a static camera are developed. For the removal of rain, temporal and spatiotemporal algorithms require fewer numbers of consecutive frames which reduces buffer size and delay. These algorithms do not assume the shape, size and velocity of raindrops which make it robust to different rain conditions (i.e., heavy rain, light rain and moderate rain). In a practical situation, there is no ground truth available for rain video. Thus, no reference quality metric is very useful in measuring the efficacy of the rain removal algorithms. Temporal variance and spatiotemporal variance are presented in this book as no reference quality metrics. An efficient rain removal algorithm using meteorological properties of rain is developed. The relation among the orientation of the raindrops, wind velocity and terminal velocity is established. This relation is used in the estimation of shape-based features of the raindrop. Meteorological property-based features helped to discriminate the rain and non-rain pixels. Most of the prior art algorithms are designed for the videos captured by a static camera. The use of global motion compensation with all rain removal algorithms designed for videos captured by static camera results in better accuracy for videos captured by moving camera. Qualitative and quantitative results confirm that probabilistic temporal, spatiotemporal and meteorological algorithms outperformed other prior art algorithms in terms of the perceptual quality, buffer size, execution delay and system cost. The work presented in this book can find wide application in entertainment industries, transportation, tracking and consumer electronics. Table of Contents: Acknowledgments / Introduction / Analysis of Rain / Dataset and Performance Metrics / Important Rain Detection Algorithms / Probabilistic Approach for Detection and Removal of Rain / Impact of Camera Motion on Detection of Rain / Meteorological Approach for Detection and Removal of Rain from Videos / Conclusion and Scope of Future Work / Bibliography / Authors' Biographies


Sherman Lead

Sherman Lead

Author: Gaillard R. Peck, Jr

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2019-03-21

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 1472829387

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Written by a pilot who flew near-daily combat missions, this engrossing book is the story of one man, his colleagues and his machine, the mighty F-4 Phantom II, at war. Sherman Lead is the gripping story of a year flying the F-4 in combat during the Vietnam War, told through the eyes of a fighter pilot. Operating out of Ubon Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand in 1968–69, Gail Peck and his squadronmates in the 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing were tasked with flying combat missions into North Vietnam and Laos at this time as part of Operations Rolling Thunder and Steel Tiger. The F-4 was heavily involved in the air-to-ground mission at this time, with targets being well defended by enemy anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles. Gail Peck's arrival in-theatre coincided with the beginning of electro-optical and laser guided 'smart' bomb combat operations. There were periods of fierce combat interspersed with lulls, and the fighting was intense and unforgettable to those who participated. Some men lived through it, and others died without a clear understanding of why.


Soviet Operational and Tactical Combat in Manchuria, 1945

Soviet Operational and Tactical Combat in Manchuria, 1945

Author: David Glantz

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2003-02-27

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13: 1135774773

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

At the request of the other Allies, on 9th August 1945, a force of over 1.5 million Red Army soldiers unleashed a massive attack against the Japanese in Manchuria. Volume 2 covers the detailed course of operational and tactical fighting in virtually every combat sector.


Combat Loaded

Combat Loaded

Author: Thomas E. Crew

Publisher: Texas A&M University Press

Published: 2006-12-01

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 9781585445561

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The first authoritative history of any of the more than 350 attack transports or attack cargo ships of World War II, Combat Loaded: Across the Pacific on the USS Tate contains gripping combat narratives alongside the sometimes heartwarming, sometimes tragic details of daily life on board the ships of Transport Squadron 17 during the waning days of World War II. Author Thomas E. Crew interviewed over fifty veterans of the Tate, including all her surviving officers. Crew weaves a rich tapestry of voices, combining it with extensive analysis of the Tate’s daily action reports and ship’s logs, accented by lively letters of the period from private collections—including previously unpublished accounts of the last days of famed war correspondent Ernie Pyle. Crew also presents a rare unit-level perspective of joint operations involving the infantry fighting ashore and the navy transports that sustained them with their vital combat cargo. The resulting richly illustrated work presents perhaps the most comprehensive account to date of the experiences and courageous contributions of those who served on amphibious transports during World War II.


How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

Author: Bill Gates

Publisher: Knopf Canada

Published: 2021-02-16

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 0735280452

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NATIONAL BESTSELLER In this urgent, singularly authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical--and accessible--plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid an irreversible climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help and guidance of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science and finance, he has focused on exactly what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide toward certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only gathers together all the information we need to fully grasp how important it is that we work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases but also details exactly what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face. He describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions; where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively; where breakthrough technologies are needed, and who is working on these essential innovations. Finally, he lays out a concrete plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions--suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt, but what we as individuals can do to keep our government, our employers and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise. As Bill Gates makes clear, achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do, but by following the guidelines he sets out here, it is a goal firmly within our reach.


Flying American Combat Aircraft of World War II

Flying American Combat Aircraft of World War II

Author: Robin D. S. Higham

Publisher: Stackpole Books

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 9780811731249

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Presents a collection of illustrated photographs and narratives that describes the U.S. combat aircraft of World War Two written by the former aviators who flew those missions.


Managing the Climate Crisis

Managing the Climate Crisis

Author: Jonathan Barnett

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2022-07-14

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 1642832006

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Natural disasters from heat waves to coastal and river flooding will inevitably become worse because of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere. Managing them is possible, but planners, designers, and policymakers need to advance adaptation and preventative measures now. Managing the Climate Crisis: Designing and Building for Floods, Heat, Drought and Wildfire by design and planning experts Jonathan Barnett and Matthijs Bouw is a practical guide to addressing this urgent national security problem. Barnett and Bouw draw from the latest scientific findings and include many recent, real-world examples to illustrate how to manage seven climate-related threats: flooding along coastlines, river flooding, flash floods from extreme rain events, drought, wildfire, long periods of high heat, and food shortages.