This document summarizes a study that examined how people comprehend illustrations showing physical actions from different perspectives. The study presented participants with images of a man holding or swinging a bat from different angles and heights. Participants had to identify which overhead image matched each image. Results showed that images with canonical views (e.g. 1/3 side views) had somewhat higher accuracy than non-canonical views, but accuracy was still high for non-canonical views with more practice. The study suggests that with more time, people can perform mental rotation tasks to comprehend images from different perspectives.
International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications (IJERA) is an open access online peer reviewed international journal that publishes research and review articles in the fields of Computer Science, Neural Networks, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, Information Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Plastic Engineering, Food Technology, Textile Engineering, Nano Technology & science, Power Electronics, Electronics & Communication Engineering, Computational mathematics, Image processing, Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Environmental Engineering, VLSI Testing & Low Power VLSI Design etc.
ROBUST STATISTICAL APPROACH FOR EXTRACTION OF MOVING HUMAN SILHOUETTES FROM V...ijitjournal
Human pose estimation is one of the key problems in computer visionthat has been studied in the recent
years. The significance of human pose estimation is in the higher level tasks of understanding human
actions applications such as recognition of anomalous actions present in videos and many other related
applications. The human poses can be estimated by extracting silhouettes of humans as silhouettes are
robust to variations and it gives the shape information of the human body. Some common challenges
include illumination changes, variation in environments, and variation in human appearances. Thus there
is a need for a robust method for human pose estimation. This paper presents a study and analysis of
approaches existing for silhouette extraction and proposes a robust technique for extracting human
silhouettes in video sequences. Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) A statistical approach is combined with
HSV (Hue, Saturation and Value) color space model for a robust background model that is used for
background subtraction to produce foreground blobs, called human silhouettes. Morphological operations
are then performed on foreground blobs from background subtraction. The silhouettes obtained from this
work can be used in further tasks associated with human action interpretation and activity processes like
human action classification, human pose estimation and action recognition or action interpretation.
Novel Approach to Use HU Moments with Image Processing Techniques for Real Ti...CSCJournals
Sign language is the fundamental communication method among people who suffer from speech and hearing defects. The rest of the world doesn’t have a clear idea of sign language. “Sign Language Communicator” (SLC) is designed to solve the language barrier between the sign language users and the rest of the world. The main objective of this research is to provide a low cost affordable method of sign language interpretation. This system will also be very useful to the sign language learners as they can practice the sign language. During the research available human computer interaction techniques in posture recognition was tested and evaluated. A series of image processing techniques with Hu-moment classification was identified as the best approach. To improve the accuracy of the system, a new approach; height to width ratio filtration was implemented along with Hu-moments. System is able to recognize selected Sign Language signs with the accuracy of 84% without a controlled background with small light adjustments.
International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications (IJERA) is an open access online peer reviewed international journal that publishes research and review articles in the fields of Computer Science, Neural Networks, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, Information Technology, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Plastic Engineering, Food Technology, Textile Engineering, Nano Technology & science, Power Electronics, Electronics & Communication Engineering, Computational mathematics, Image processing, Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Environmental Engineering, VLSI Testing & Low Power VLSI Design etc.
ROBUST STATISTICAL APPROACH FOR EXTRACTION OF MOVING HUMAN SILHOUETTES FROM V...ijitjournal
Human pose estimation is one of the key problems in computer visionthat has been studied in the recent
years. The significance of human pose estimation is in the higher level tasks of understanding human
actions applications such as recognition of anomalous actions present in videos and many other related
applications. The human poses can be estimated by extracting silhouettes of humans as silhouettes are
robust to variations and it gives the shape information of the human body. Some common challenges
include illumination changes, variation in environments, and variation in human appearances. Thus there
is a need for a robust method for human pose estimation. This paper presents a study and analysis of
approaches existing for silhouette extraction and proposes a robust technique for extracting human
silhouettes in video sequences. Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) A statistical approach is combined with
HSV (Hue, Saturation and Value) color space model for a robust background model that is used for
background subtraction to produce foreground blobs, called human silhouettes. Morphological operations
are then performed on foreground blobs from background subtraction. The silhouettes obtained from this
work can be used in further tasks associated with human action interpretation and activity processes like
human action classification, human pose estimation and action recognition or action interpretation.
Novel Approach to Use HU Moments with Image Processing Techniques for Real Ti...CSCJournals
Sign language is the fundamental communication method among people who suffer from speech and hearing defects. The rest of the world doesn’t have a clear idea of sign language. “Sign Language Communicator” (SLC) is designed to solve the language barrier between the sign language users and the rest of the world. The main objective of this research is to provide a low cost affordable method of sign language interpretation. This system will also be very useful to the sign language learners as they can practice the sign language. During the research available human computer interaction techniques in posture recognition was tested and evaluated. A series of image processing techniques with Hu-moment classification was identified as the best approach. To improve the accuracy of the system, a new approach; height to width ratio filtration was implemented along with Hu-moments. System is able to recognize selected Sign Language signs with the accuracy of 84% without a controlled background with small light adjustments.
OWLED2009: A platform for distributing and reasoning with OWL-EL knowledge ba...Michel Dumontier
Memory exhaustion is a common problem in tableau-based
OWL reasoners, when reasoning with large ontologies. One possible solution
is to distribute the reasoning task across multiple machines. In this
paper, we present, as preliminary work, a prototypical implementation
for distributing OWL-EL ontologies over a Peer-to-Peer network, and
reasoning with them in a distributed manner. The algorithms presented
are based on Distributed Hash Table (DHT), a common technique used
by Peer-to-Peer applications. The system implementation was developed
using the JXTA P2P platform and the Pellet OWL-DL reasoner. It remains
to demonstrate the efficiency of our method and implementation
with respect to stand alone reasoners and other distributed systems.
http://www.webont.org/owled/2009/papers/owled2009_submission_34.pdf
OWLED2009: A platform for distributing and reasoning with OWL-EL knowledge ba...Michel Dumontier
Memory exhaustion is a common problem in tableau-based
OWL reasoners, when reasoning with large ontologies. One possible solution
is to distribute the reasoning task across multiple machines. In this
paper, we present, as preliminary work, a prototypical implementation
for distributing OWL-EL ontologies over a Peer-to-Peer network, and
reasoning with them in a distributed manner. The algorithms presented
are based on Distributed Hash Table (DHT), a common technique used
by Peer-to-Peer applications. The system implementation was developed
using the JXTA P2P platform and the Pellet OWL-DL reasoner. It remains
to demonstrate the efficiency of our method and implementation
with respect to stand alone reasoners and other distributed systems.
http://www.webont.org/owled/2009/papers/owled2009_submission_34.pdf
Enhancing the Design pattern Framework of Robots Object Selection Mechanism -...INFOGAIN PUBLICATION
In order to enable a computer to construct and display a three-dimensional array, solid objects from a single two-dimensional photograph, the rules and assumptions of depth perception have been carefully analyzed and mechanized. It is assumed that a photograph is a perspective projection of a set of objects which can be constructed from transformations of known three-dimensional models, and that the objects are supported by other visible objects or by a ground plane. These assumptions enable a computer to obtain a reasonable, three-dimensional description from the edge information in a photograph by means of a topological, mathematical process. A computer program has been written which can process a photograph into a line drawing .transform the line drawing into a three-dimensional representation and, finally, display the three-dimensional structure with all the hidden lines removed, from any point of view. The 2-D to 3-D construction and 3-D to 2-D display processes are sufficiently general to handle most collections of planar-surfaced objects and provide a valuable starting point for future investigation of computer-aided three-dimensional systems.
International Journal of Engineering Research and Development (IJERD)IJERD Editor
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yahoo journals, bing journals, International Journal of Engineering Research and Development, google journals, hard copy of journal
Visual Perception, Quantity of Information Function and the Concept of the Qu...Rushan Ziatdinov
The geometric shapes of the outside world objects hide an undisclosed emotional, psychological, artistic, aesthetic and shape-generating potential; they may attract or cause fear as well as a variety of other emotions. This suggests that living beings with vision perceive geometric objects within an information-handling process. However, not many studies have been performed for a better understanding of visual perception from the view of information theory and mathematical modelling, but the evidence first found by Attneave (1954) suggests that the concepts and techniques of information theory may shed light on a better and deeper understanding of visual perception. The quantity of information function can theoretically explain the concentration of information on the visual contours, and, based on this, we first propose the concept of the quantity of information continuous splines for visualization of shapes from a given set of discrete data without adding any in-between points with curvature extreme. Additionally, we first discover planar curve with a constant quantity of information function and demonstrate one of the conditions when a monotonic curvature curve has a constant quantity of information function.
In this report, Argus, a tool for generating visualizations for eye tracking data is presented. There are numerous ways to
visually present eye tracking data: heatmaps, scanpath, gaze stripes, eye clouds and AOI transition diagrams to name a few. On top
of that, there are multiple ways to interact with these visualizations like selecting users, stimuli and fixation points to compare these
features between the different visualizations. All of the aforementioned visualizations and interaction techniques are implemented into
this tool. This report describes these visualizations and interactions including their advantages and disadvantages and how they are
used in understanding eye tracking data. Furthermore, the report also looks at the structure of the dataset, how the tool runs on a
server, how data is stored and the design philosophy of the website. Finally, the tool is previewed by means of an application example
and the performance and limitations are discussed.
Unsupervised Categorization of Objects into Artificial and Natural Superordin...CSCJournals
Object recognition problem has mainly focused on classification of specific object classes and not much work is devoted to the problem of automatic recognition of general object classes. The aim of this paper is to distinguish between the highest levels of conceptual object classes (i.e. artificial vs. natural objects) by defining features extracted from energy of low level visual characteristics of color, orientation and frequency. We have examined two modes of global and local feature extraction. In local strategy, only features from a limited number of random small windows are extracted, while in global strategy, features are taken from the whole image.
Unlike many other object recognition approaches, we used unsupervised learning technique for distinguishing between two classes of artificial and natural objects based on experimental results which show that distinction of visual object super-classes is not based on long term memory. Therein, a clustering task is performed to divide the feature space into two parts without supervision. Comparison of clustering results using different sets of defined low level visual features show that frequency features obtained by applying Fourier transfer could provide the highest distinction between artificial and natural objects.
Classifying Reading Behaviours using Deep Learning Methods with Eye-Tracking Data.
This work is interesting in identifying four reading behaviors: detailed-reading, non-reading, skimming, and scanning, by implementing three deep learning models – deep neural network (DNN), convolutional neural network (CNN), and recurrent neural networks (RNN), with eye-tracking data.
Replying to the findings, this paper proposes an idea to categorize reading behaviors by applying deep learning algorithms on eye-tracking data. More specifically, four activities – detailed-reading, non-reading, skimming, and scanning are classified by several deep learning algorithms listing as DNN, CNN, and RNN. Consequently, the work answers two research questions about which models and data type provide the highest accuracy when classifying reading behaviors.
Visualization designers usually start with good common-sense ideas about human perception, attention and cognition. Often these are now formalized into predictive theories and even computational models. As technology advances speed up, it is easy to assume that we know all about how end users work, forgetting everyday variations in age, expertise level, real-world knowledge and task goals. This talk will consider the adaptability of human visual processing to such factors, and some practical implications for work with geospatial visualizations.
11. Define a simple deformable model to detect a half-circular shape.pdffeetshoemart
11. Define a simple deformable model to detect a half-circular shape (may be rotated). What will
be the energy function?
Solution
shape is a recurring theme in computer vision. For example, shape is one of the main sources of
information that can be used for object recognition. In medical image analysis, geometrical
models of anatomical structures play an important role in automatic tissue segmentation. The
shape of an organ can also be used to diagnose diseases. In a completely different setting, shape
plays an important role in the perception of optical illusions (we tend to see particular shapes)
and this can be used to explain how our visual system interprets the ambiguous and incomplete
information available in an image. Our main goal is to develop techniques that can be used to
represent and detect relatively generic objects in images. The techniques we present here revolve
around a particular shape representation, based on the description of objects using triangulated
polygons. Triangulated polygons allow us to describe complex shapes using simple building
blocks. As we show in the next section, the triangles that decompose a polygon without holes are
connected together in a tree structure, and this has important algorithmic consequences. By
picking a particular triangulation for the polygons we obtain decompositions of objects into
meaningful parts. This yields a discrete representation closely related to Blum’s medial axis
transform [6]. In this paper we concentrate on the task of finding the location of a deformable
shape in an image. This problem is important for the recognition of non-rigid objects. Moreover,
objects in many generic classes can be described as deformed versions of an ideal template. In
this setting, the location of an object is given by a continuous map from a template to an image.
Figure 1 illustrates how we use a deformable template to detect a particular anatomical structure
in an MR image. We will show how triangulated polygons provide rich models for deformable
shapes. These models can capture both boundary and interior information of an object and can be
deformed in an intuitive way. Equally important, we present an efficient algorithm for finding
the optimal location of a deformable shape in an image. In contrast, previous methods that take
into account the interior of deformable objects.
The geometric properties of rigid objects are well understood. We know how three dimensional
features such as corners or edges project into images, and there are a number of methods that can
be used to represent rigid shapes and locate their projections. Some techniques, such as the
alignment method [23], use explicit three dimensional representations. Other techniques, such as
linear combination of views [36], capture the appearance of three dimensional shapes using a
small number of two dimensional pictures. These and similar techniques assume that all shape
variation comes from the viewpoint dependency of two dimensiona.
JMeter webinar - integration with InfluxDB and GrafanaRTTS
Watch this recorded webinar about real-time monitoring of application performance. See how to integrate Apache JMeter, the open-source leader in performance testing, with InfluxDB, the open-source time-series database, and Grafana, the open-source analytics and visualization application.
In this webinar, we will review the benefits of leveraging InfluxDB and Grafana when executing load tests and demonstrate how these tools are used to visualize performance metrics.
Length: 30 minutes
Session Overview
-------------------------------------------
During this webinar, we will cover the following topics while demonstrating the integrations of JMeter, InfluxDB and Grafana:
- What out-of-the-box solutions are available for real-time monitoring JMeter tests?
- What are the benefits of integrating InfluxDB and Grafana into the load testing stack?
- Which features are provided by Grafana?
- Demonstration of InfluxDB and Grafana using a practice web application
To view the webinar recording, go to:
https://www.rttsweb.com/jmeter-integration-webinar
Neuro-symbolic is not enough, we need neuro-*semantic*Frank van Harmelen
Neuro-symbolic (NeSy) AI is on the rise. However, simply machine learning on just any symbolic structure is not sufficient to really harvest the gains of NeSy. These will only be gained when the symbolic structures have an actual semantics. I give an operational definition of semantics as “predictable inference”.
All of this illustrated with link prediction over knowledge graphs, but the argument is general.
Key Trends Shaping the Future of Infrastructure.pdfCheryl Hung
Keynote at DIGIT West Expo, Glasgow on 29 May 2024.
Cheryl Hung, ochery.com
Sr Director, Infrastructure Ecosystem, Arm.
The key trends across hardware, cloud and open-source; exploring how these areas are likely to mature and develop over the short and long-term, and then considering how organisations can position themselves to adapt and thrive.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 3DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 3. In this session, we will cover desktop automation along with UI automation.
Topics covered:
UI automation Introduction,
UI automation Sample
Desktop automation flow
Pradeep Chinnala, Senior Consultant Automation Developer @WonderBotz and UiPath MVP
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
State of ICS and IoT Cyber Threat Landscape Report 2024 previewPrayukth K V
The IoT and OT threat landscape report has been prepared by the Threat Research Team at Sectrio using data from Sectrio, cyber threat intelligence farming facilities spread across over 85 cities around the world. In addition, Sectrio also runs AI-based advanced threat and payload engagement facilities that serve as sinks to attract and engage sophisticated threat actors, and newer malware including new variants and latent threats that are at an earlier stage of development.
The latest edition of the OT/ICS and IoT security Threat Landscape Report 2024 also covers:
State of global ICS asset and network exposure
Sectoral targets and attacks as well as the cost of ransom
Global APT activity, AI usage, actor and tactic profiles, and implications
Rise in volumes of AI-powered cyberattacks
Major cyber events in 2024
Malware and malicious payload trends
Cyberattack types and targets
Vulnerability exploit attempts on CVEs
Attacks on counties – USA
Expansion of bot farms – how, where, and why
In-depth analysis of the cyber threat landscape across North America, South America, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East
Why are attacks on smart factories rising?
Cyber risk predictions
Axis of attacks – Europe
Systemic attacks in the Middle East
Download the full report from here:
https://sectrio.com/resources/ot-threat-landscape-reports/sectrio-releases-ot-ics-and-iot-security-threat-landscape-report-2024/
Elevating Tactical DDD Patterns Through Object CalisthenicsDorra BARTAGUIZ
After immersing yourself in the blue book and its red counterpart, attending DDD-focused conferences, and applying tactical patterns, you're left with a crucial question: How do I ensure my design is effective? Tactical patterns within Domain-Driven Design (DDD) serve as guiding principles for creating clear and manageable domain models. However, achieving success with these patterns requires additional guidance. Interestingly, we've observed that a set of constraints initially designed for training purposes remarkably aligns with effective pattern implementation, offering a more ‘mechanical’ approach. Let's explore together how Object Calisthenics can elevate the design of your tactical DDD patterns, offering concrete help for those venturing into DDD for the first time!
Encryption in Microsoft 365 - ExpertsLive Netherlands 2024Albert Hoitingh
In this session I delve into the encryption technology used in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Purview. Including the concepts of Customer Key and Double Key Encryption.
DevOps and Testing slides at DASA ConnectKari Kakkonen
My and Rik Marselis slides at 30.5.2024 DASA Connect conference. We discuss about what is testing, then what is agile testing and finally what is Testing in DevOps. Finally we had lovely workshop with the participants trying to find out different ways to think about quality and testing in different parts of the DevOps infinity loop.
Generating a custom Ruby SDK for your web service or Rails API using Smithyg2nightmarescribd
Have you ever wanted a Ruby client API to communicate with your web service? Smithy is a protocol-agnostic language for defining services and SDKs. Smithy Ruby is an implementation of Smithy that generates a Ruby SDK using a Smithy model. In this talk, we will explore Smithy and Smithy Ruby to learn how to generate custom feature-rich SDKs that can communicate with any web service, such as a Rails JSON API.
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a buttonDianaGray10
Here is something new! In our next Connector Corner webinar, we will demonstrate how you can use a single workflow to:
Create a campaign using Mailchimp with merge tags/fields
Send an interactive Slack channel message (using buttons)
Have the message received by managers and peers along with a test email for review
But there’s more:
In a second workflow supporting the same use case, you’ll see:
Your campaign sent to target colleagues for approval
If the “Approve” button is clicked, a Jira/Zendesk ticket is created for the marketing design team
But—if the “Reject” button is pushed, colleagues will be alerted via Slack message
Join us to learn more about this new, human-in-the-loop capability, brought to you by Integration Service connectors.
And...
Speakers:
Akshay Agnihotri, Product Manager
Charlie Greenberg, Host
GDG Cloud Southlake #33: Boule & Rebala: Effective AppSec in SDLC using Deplo...James Anderson
Effective Application Security in Software Delivery lifecycle using Deployment Firewall and DBOM
The modern software delivery process (or the CI/CD process) includes many tools, distributed teams, open-source code, and cloud platforms. Constant focus on speed to release software to market, along with the traditional slow and manual security checks has caused gaps in continuous security as an important piece in the software supply chain. Today organizations feel more susceptible to external and internal cyber threats due to the vast attack surface in their applications supply chain and the lack of end-to-end governance and risk management.
The software team must secure its software delivery process to avoid vulnerability and security breaches. This needs to be achieved with existing tool chains and without extensive rework of the delivery processes. This talk will present strategies and techniques for providing visibility into the true risk of the existing vulnerabilities, preventing the introduction of security issues in the software, resolving vulnerabilities in production environments quickly, and capturing the deployment bill of materials (DBOM).
Speakers:
Bob Boule
Robert Boule is a technology enthusiast with PASSION for technology and making things work along with a knack for helping others understand how things work. He comes with around 20 years of solution engineering experience in application security, software continuous delivery, and SaaS platforms. He is known for his dynamic presentations in CI/CD and application security integrated in software delivery lifecycle.
Gopinath Rebala
Gopinath Rebala is the CTO of OpsMx, where he has overall responsibility for the machine learning and data processing architectures for Secure Software Delivery. Gopi also has a strong connection with our customers, leading design and architecture for strategic implementations. Gopi is a frequent speaker and well-known leader in continuous delivery and integrating security into software delivery.
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...DanBrown980551
Do you want to learn how to model and simulate an electrical network from scratch in under an hour?
Then welcome to this PowSyBl workshop, hosted by Rte, the French Transmission System Operator (TSO)!
During the webinar, you will discover the PowSyBl ecosystem as well as handle and study an electrical network through an interactive Python notebook.
PowSyBl is an open source project hosted by LF Energy, which offers a comprehensive set of features for electrical grid modelling and simulation. Among other advanced features, PowSyBl provides:
- A fully editable and extendable library for grid component modelling;
- Visualization tools to display your network;
- Grid simulation tools, such as power flows, security analyses (with or without remedial actions) and sensitivity analyses;
The framework is mostly written in Java, with a Python binding so that Python developers can access PowSyBl functionalities as well.
What you will learn during the webinar:
- For beginners: discover PowSyBl's functionalities through a quick general presentation and the notebook, without needing any expert coding skills;
- For advanced developers: master the skills to efficiently apply PowSyBl functionalities to your real-world scenarios.
LF Energy Webinar: Electrical Grid Modelling and Simulation Through PowSyBl -...
Nozawa thesis
1. 1University of Aizu, Graduation Thesis. March, 2012 s1170033
Abstract
User manuals for physical performance help us
understand how a task is actually performed in a 3-d
space. Literature on spatial information
comprehension is scant on the topic related to
identifying factors which leads spatial comprehension
of physical tasks. The literature on mental imagery
and rotation has been discussed in this context of an
experiment where body rotations, object height and
action combinations have been studied to understand
how mental rotation tasks are performed. The
experiment reported in this thesis focused on
matching body rotation-action-object height
combinations shown from body height with overhead
images. Two types of activities were used: holding a
bat and swinging a bat. Five body rotations from full
front to back views were used with the bat being held
at chest and waist height. Results show that canonical
viewpoints and angles across the display plane are
somewhat preferred, although accuracy with non-
canonical viewpoints and angles into the display
plane were also high. The study thus goes on to show
that with more practice and time spent, mental
rotation tasks could be better performed.
1 Introduction
Mental imagery is an experience and an important
aspect of our general understanding of how different
objects functions in space without direct visualization
[1]. In a complex spatial world, mental imagery can
present some complex cases of comprehension
involving mental rotation. Mental rotation is the
ability to rotate two-dimensional and three-
dimensional objects in space but as an internal
representation of the mind. It is basically about how
the brain moves objects in the physical space in a
manner that helps with spatial understanding and
intelligence (including structural and functional
attributes) of objects in space [2][3][4].
Research in psychology has provided enough
literature demonstrating how people develop and
customize mental models and perform mental
rotation towards performing procedural actions in
space. This is where technical illustrations can
actually help develop guidelines in a way that might
help users perform mental rotations in a predefined or
expected sequence. This leads us to the question of
why we need technical illustrations for
communicating visually complex information.
Technical illustration is the use of illustration to
visually communicate information of complex
information [5]. The main purpose of any technical
illustration is to create expressive images, which has
meaning to the human senses and observer. The
accuracy of technical illustrations in terms of
dimensions and proportions help readers with visual
comprehension of the structural and functional
aspects of a given object in space. Naturally, this is
very important for showing body positions.
In this context, one must introduce the concept of
kinesthetic learning. It is a learning style whereby the
performer learns by carrying out a physical activity in
actual physical space, rather than thinking and
conjecturing about a physical action. The theory of
multiple intelligence by Gardner [6] has mentioned
kinesthetic learning. Kinesthetic learners are thought
to be the ones who prefer to physically try out and
perform the action involving their own bodily
experience.
Technical illustrations are designed to act as visual
aids that help replicate physical actions in a way
intended by instructors of the act. Technical
illustration show actions from the point of view of
performers, especially if performers’ bodies are
required to be positioned a particular way to perform
actions. One can choose to understand complex
information by using technical illustrations as an aid.
2 Review of the Literature
2.1 Overview
The technical communication literature is not very
rich with studies other than by Krull et al., (2001;
2003; 2004); (Szlichcinski, 1980); (Heiser and
Tversky, 2002) and few others, focusing primarily on
comprehension of procedural illustrations, and less
for body positions in space [7][8][9][10][11].
Traditionally, studies of mental imagery and rotation
in experimental psychology have addressed this issue
of object positions in space, but for comprehending
Efficacy of Technical Illustrations in a Technical
Communication Environment
Masato Nozawa s1170033 Supervised by Prof. Debopriyo Roy
2. 2University of Aizu, Graduation Thesis. March, 2012 s1170033
human ability to perform mental rotation tasks in
space. This review of the literature is designed to
explain two major factors that might help
comprehend physical actions and performing mental
rotation in a 3-d environment.
● How do perception of depth and body/object-
centered viewpoints influence comprehension of
physical actions in a 3-d space?
● How do motor skills and learning influence the
way we design technical illustrations?
Such understanding will help us comprehend what it
takes to design technical illustrations of physical
actions performed in a 3-d environment. What factors
should technical illustrators consider for designing
user actions in space?
2.2 PERCEPTION OF DEPTH 2-D
TECHNICAL ILLUSTRATION
There is extensive research done by Krull et al.,
(2004) with the suggestion that graphics for physical
tasks need to take into account the needs of users who
will carry out actions in a physical environment [9].
Research suggests that graphics need to show tasks
from the users' viewpoint, and need to make clear
how tools are to be used and the direction in which
actions are to be exerted. The paper provides some
sample graphic design guidelines.
Technical illustrations are useful only when readers
are actually able to use their vision systems when
performing tasks in the three dimensional space [5].
Readers might scan through physical illustrations
showing physical actions and use one type of vision
system primarily for object identification purposes,
while the other type of vision system could be used
for orienting their bodies in space [8]. However,
people are often able to comprehend well the distance
between objects or body parts across the display
plane where the space between objects is visible.
Contrarily, people find it relatively difficult to be able
to judge object positions when distances are to be
judged into the display plane [8].
The problem is that while showing different variants
of body positions and physical actions as in sports,
people often perceive positions, objects, movements,
and forces along the line of sight into the display
plane, thereby obscuring the vision necessary to
comprehend or copy the action, exactly as it should
be executed.
Research suggests that monocular vision dominates
binocular vision in experiencing depth from 2D
pictures and speculated that binocular vision did not
develop as a separate visual system but as an add-on
to monocular vision [12]. Hochberg (1978) suggested
that readers of 2-D illustrations on print or electronic
media have only monocular vision to help them
interpret what they see [13]. Krull concluded that
monocular cues reduces depth perception for 2-D
illustrations, thereby making interpretation more
difficult, and situates the choice of illustration’s
perspective (body-centered vs. object-centered) as a
central consideration. Depth perception arises from a
variety of depth cues. These are typically classified
into binocular cues that require input from both eyes
and monocular cues that require the input from just
one eye [14].
So, an optimal illustration should technically always
help readers see the maximum viewpoints available
in the scene, and show objects in a way such that
almost no parts of the body in business is obscured in
a way that handicaps the possible understanding and
execution of the task. This is what we call an object-
centered view where objects are placed across the
display plane.
2.3 USER-CENTERED VS.
OBJECT-CENTERED
PERSPECTIVE
An illustration with an object-centered point of view
positions objects across a display plane. This
viewpoint, which could also be called a spectator’s
view, allows objects to be placed so as to direct
viewers’ attention without obscuring important parts
of objects [6].
When we have to show a man pushing a cart, should
we show the scene where we see the back of the man
pushing the cart? Although it goes well with the user-
centered perspective, the cart will be obscured from
direct viewing; neither would it be possible to gauge
the hand placement as to replicate exactly how the
cart is being pushed. However, if a 1/3rd front or a
1/3rd side vision is shown, at a waist length, it might
be a lot easier to see most of the body and parts of the
cart, including the hand placement of the man
pushing the cart. Research by Heiser and Tversky
(2002) with a furniture assembly task and
Szlichcinski (1979; 1980) with hand positions
supported the efficacy of partially rotated objects as
compared to objects shown head-on, or shown with
full back [11][10].
Psychological research [8] has concurred that
canonical views showing two-dimensional
representations of physical actions that are held in a
three dimensional world are best represented when
illustrations are shown with objects in a three-quarter
view from slightly below the camera position.
3. 3University of Aizu, Graduation Thesis. March, 2012 s1170033
Although canonical views (slightly rotated viewpoint
to show maximum angles) are always preferred,
when it comes to replicating tasks, the choice
between a spectator’s viewpoint (seeing the action as
an observer and not as a doer) and object-centered
viewpoint (seeing the action as a doer and not as an
observer) is rather obscure and more context-driven.
If the question is to judge the distance between legs
when pushing a heavy cart, then a complete side view
might be the most preferred option. However, if we
need to see the grip and arm movements (stretching)
when pushing the cart, both side and zoomed-in front
views might both be effective. This is important to
understand because there are individual differences in
the way people prioritize objects in space vis-a-vis
the orientation of their bodies in space and with
different interpretations of visual information [15]
and with different performance levels on the task [16].
2.4 UNDERSTANDING MOTOR
SKILLS FOR TECHNICAL
ILLUSTRATIONS DESIGN
While designing illustrations of physical actions in a
user manual, technical illustrators should consider
two important things.
●How is motor learning and performance
developed?
● What are the best possible strategies for drawing
technical illustrations (for different tasks) such that it
helps readers understand the physical actions, not
only what needs to be accomplished, but exactly how
it needs to be done?
Skills classified by task: A specific task, based on
specific skills could be classified in terms of how
well defined is the movement in a discrete, serial and
continuous continuum.
Skills classified by Cognitive Elements: While
netting the ball in a basketball game, there should be
cognitive strategies deciding on the precise nature of
jump and the throw (how much to jump and the
distance to throw). Perfecting the jump and throw to a
certain level of efficiency is recognition of fine motor
skill, and the strategy behind such efficiency is
cognitive skill, and the combination leads to the
constant adaptation needed to reach a certain level of
efficiency.
Skills Classified by Environmental Factors: With
more environmental conditions and related
unpredictability, the levels of cognitive skills might
have more impact [17]. For example, when playing
baseball, how to swing the bat to hit the ball when the
ball swings in the air due to windy conditions is a
valid consideration.
3 MAJOR RESEARCH QUESTION
AND HYPOTHESES
What might be the most optimal viewpoint towards
comprehending a two-dimensional illustration
showing physical actions in a three-dimensional
space?
Hypothesis:
● Objects shown from a performer’s point of view
should be easier to understand.
● Illustrations showing more angles across the
display plane might be easier to understand.
● Levels of comprehension based on a two-
dimensional illustration should differ based on
whether the objects are shown at or below the camera
position.
The purpose of this experiment as designed for the
reported study is not to measure motor skills and
performance, but to identify it as a factor influencing
performance and learning, and most importantly to
explore the extent to which readers are able to
comprehend illustrations when demonstrated in a
print media from different perspectives and depth
perceptions.
Sample and Context: Forty-one students who are
non-native speakers of English (native Japanese
speakers) participated in this study.
Procedure
The experiment aims to understand how common
people understand images and relates them to images
shown from different perspectives and camera
positions. We asked test subjects to evaluate body
images via matching tasks and asked them to rate
their confidence in their choices.
4 Method
41 subjects took part in the experiment and each
subject rated 40 image types, divided into two blocks
of 20 each. As part of its robust design, the
experiment considered two sets of images. For the
experiment, we generated images of body positions
for two kind activities: a man holding a bat and a man
hitting with a bat. The purpose for using two different
types of objects relates to the exploration of whether
object types influence how decisions about depth
perceptions and display planes and viewpoints
(object-centered or performer-centered) are made.
This paper only discusses the results generated from
the image set related to the man with the bat. The
4. 4University of Aizu, Graduation Thesis. March, 2012 s1170033
other set (man with ball) has been discussed as part of
another paper.
Each participant was handed out two different sets as
part of an in-class graded assignment, with each set
having 20 test sheets. Each participant was first
handed out an instruction sheet in Japanese, and they
were orally explained in Japanese as to what is
expected of them from the experiment.
The volunteers explained to them the purpose of
the experiment, what it aims to achieve and how each
participant should approach the test. At that point, the
participants were allowed to ask questions related to
the experiment, and voice any question or concern.
The volunteers were also available throughout the
experiment to answer queries related to the
experiment. There was no time limit set for the
participants to complete the experiment, but they
were expected to complete their responses within 90
minutes. However, they were allowed to retain the
answer sheet with them until the next class meeting
exactly a week later. There were two reasons why
there was no time limit maintained.
(1) Students were allowed to think and re-think
about illustrations and were allowed to change their
responses if they wanted to.
(2) Students had to complete a series of questions
related to the experiment in Moodle as a graded
assignment, and retaining the test sheets and
referring back to those while answering the
questions in Moodle were naturally thought of as
more enriching.
In each test sheet, participants were asked to circle
the correct choice. Each of the three options were
demonstrated as Picture A, B and C. They also went
on report their second best choice for each test sheet
and also their levels of confidence for each response.
Instruments:
Using a computer program called POSER Figure
Artist that sustains accurate three-dimensional
relationships among body parts, the experimenter
produced variations of viewpoints and body positions.
Each position included two heights for each activity:
Chest and Waist. The man-with-bat-holding is shown
as holding a bat centered in front of chest or waist with
the hands gripping the bat from both sides. The man-
with-bat-throwing version shows hitting with bat at the
chest or waist height. These action gestures were
captured for five positions where the body moves with
the camera position remaining constant: Front - 0
degrees (the man holding/throwing the ball and facing
the camera head on), 1/3 Side - 30 degrees, Side - 90
degrees, 1/3 Back - 120 degrees, Back - 180 degrees.
For all these images, the camera was positioned
slightly above the waist height.
Each set had five images and there were 4 sets in total.
Every set was rotated in five angles as mentioned
before. The first set showed a man holding a bat at
chest height; the second set showed hitting at chest
height. Two other sets showed a man holding and
hitting with a bat at waist height respectively.
Once these images were generated, the camera was
then positioned to capture images from the top for the
above-mentioned sets. A matching top image was
generated for each image generated from the sets
above, with a displacement along the y and z-axis to
position the camera exactly on top of the head. Each of
the images generated for the 4 sets were tested to see
whether readers could identify the same when shown
from the top. Each test sheet had an image from the
above sets, with three top views out of which only one
top view correctly represents the view shown from
slightly over the waist height. Each test sheet had three
questions and question 1 and 3 were answered in a
Likert scale.
1 Identify the most appropriate picture shown from the
top that matches the picture shown from the waist
height. (Three options provided).
2 Which illustration shown from the top stands the
second best?
3 How confident are you about your response?
Findings:
A comprehensive review of data allows us to see
that there is some significant difference between the 20
different body position-height-action combinations
that were used for this analysis. Subsequent analysis
revealed whether the difference in the mean values of
accuracy between body positions, as has been
discussed in the next paragraph is statistically
significant.
Data shows relatively highest mean values for man
holding bat at chest height for 1/3rd side rotation at .93
(meaning 93% of the participants completed the
matching task accurately), holding waist 1/3rd
back,
holding waist back and front at over .90 mean score.
Only one score from hitting category, hitting waist
back rotation is marked at .93. Interestingly, almost all
the highest levels of accuracy for any given matching
task are recorded for holding bat positions; with hitting
positions for any angle (except hitting waist back
rotation) have lower levels of accuracy.
5. 5University of Aizu, Graduation Thesis. March, 2012 s1170033
Further, data shows that all the highest frequencies
are recorded for 1/3rd
side, back, 1/3rd back positions.
The lowest mean accuracy scores were recorded for
hitting chest 1/3rd back positions at .66, hitting waist
1/3rd
side positions at .68 and other hitting positions
also recording lower mean accuracy scores. With over
80% accuracy scores, frequency data shows over 30
individuals performing the matching task correctly.
I then performed a non-parametric Cochran’s Q test
for binary data (0 = inaccurate; 1 = accurate) for the 5
angular rotations at “holding bat at chest height”.
Results show that with Cochran’s Q value at 4.182 and
p = .382 > .05, there is no significant difference
between the different matching tasks at holding chest
height for 5 angular rotations.
An overall Cochran’s Q test for all the 20
combinations of data (5 angular rotations, height and
bat action) shows a value of - 17.968, with Asymp. Sig
= .525.
For hitting at chest position for 5 angular rotations,
data shows a value of 6.552 with Asymp. Sig = .162.
Although data shows statistically insignificant
difference between the 5 matching tasks in the group,
it certainly shows more diverse data when compared to
the “holding chest” group.
Data show that for “holding bat at the waist height”
combinations for the 5 angular rotations there is
insignificant difference between the mean accuracy
scores. A Cochran’s value of 2.615 and p = .624 goes
on to show the insignificance. However, data does
indicate that the accuracy performance is less varied
for “holding-waist” group than it is for “hitting-chest”
group.
Data further shows that there are statistically
significant difference accuracy scores between the 5
angular body positions for the 5 “hitting-waist”
combinations. With a Cochran’s test value of 14.122
and a p value = .007 < .05, we see that angular
rotations for hitting waist positions did not call for the
same type of accuracy scores. This evidence shows
that when compared to all other groups, the data is
more varied between these 5 matching tasks.
Comparative accuracy scores between four front
positions between the chest and waist heights and for
actions (holding or hitting) show a difference in mean
accuracy scores between 78 ~ 90%. The comparative
accuracy scores between the 1/3rd
side positions
between the chest and waist heights and for actions
(holding or hitting) show a difference in mean
accuracy scores between 68 ~ 93%. Results suggest
that hitting waist 1/3rd
side with 68% accuracy was
way lower than any other position combination
discussed so far. The other hitting position at chest
height had much more accuracy at 83%. But overall, it
looks like the holding positions were relatively easier
to complete. Results suggest that hitting positions on
side angles has relatively lower levels of accuracy
around 76 ~ 78%, but the holding positions (chest and
waist) have higher accuracy scores at 85%.
For the confidence self-reports on the 5 angular
rotations for the holding chest positions, we see a
variation in self-confidence levels in a 1 ~ 5 scale
between 3.50 ~ 3.98. Interestingly, front and 1/3rd side
positions clearly show higher levels of comfort and
confidence.
Interestingly, for hitting chest positions we clearly see
a lowered confidence level around the 3.5 levels for all
the given angular rotations. Even when the confidence
levels are lower when compared to the holding chest
positions, even within this hitting-chest group we see
quite a difference in confidence levels between front
position at 3.43 and 1/3rd back position at 3.63.
Surprisingly, we see higher confidence levels for 1/3rd
back positions, whereas for back position, the
confidence is quite lower.
This data is not conclusive and indicative of any
pattern, but there exists some indications that
canonical viewpoints show a strong correlation
between actual accuracy scores and confidence.
4 Discussions
In the review of the literature, we had a section on
how motor skills and related performance happens
for physical tasks. We wanted readers to be conscious
of the fact that types of actions shown (discrete, serial
or continuous), cognitive information processing by
the actor, linking motor skills and cognitive elements,
and environmental factors for e.g., consideration of
wind factors (while bowling in a game of cricket),
ground slope (when playing golf) etc., technically
and practically have a bearing on how the physical
task is completed. However, in this study we could
not consider it to be a factor that influences
understanding of illustrations. Rather, we wanted
readers to know that it becomes a factor when readers
probably try to emulate the action based on their
comprehension of the illustration. Comprehension of
how the task is to be completed and actual
implementation of the task are different factors and
readers should be aware of the fact that actual
implementation needs more calculation and judgment
based on specific context of action which probably
can’t always be designed as part of technical
illustrations. Motor learning is based on motor
6. 6University of Aizu, Graduation Thesis. March, 2012 s1170033
performance and is different from learning about an
action from a technical illustration with visible
viewpoints. Technical illustrations will work for
initial comprehension of action patterns, but beyond
that, motor learning and performance should
complement each other.
5 Conclusions
This study is aimed at carrying forward the studies
performed by Krull et al (2004) [10]. As compared to
previous studies by Krull et al., this study aimed at
including more variations in actions and body heights
and making those positional features more explicit
and detailed. Further, with this study the aim was to
include a serious group of participants who actually
participated in this exercise for a grade. Future
studies should continue to include more variations in
body height and action types, with more details and
objects in and across the line of sight. This study does
allow us to see the importance of different variables
and how it influences performance. More testing is
needed before we could definitely reach a conclusion
about the preferences that readers might have for
visualization purposes. Finally, besides testing with
different variations on body height – action
combinations, future testing should also make
alterations to the way the current experiment has been
designed to more systematically include more options
for test sheets.
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