the computer vision industry

As I was surfing the net I came accross a list of companies working in the area of Computer Vision privided by Professor David Lowe of UBC:

The Computer Vision Industry David Lowe This web page gives a listing of companies that develop computer vision products. Computer vision (also often referred to as "machine vision" or "automated imaging") is the automated extraction of information from images. This differs from image processing, in which an image is processed to produce another image. This page covers only products based on computer or machine vision, and it does not cover image processing or any of the many suppliers of sensors or other equipment to the industry. Companies are categorized under their principal application area, and then listed alphabetically. Companies are listed only if they have web pages giving information about their products. Please let me know of any links that are missing. Automobile driver assistance Iteris (Santa Ana, California). Lane departure warning systems for trucks and cars that monitor position on the road. Used in over 35,000 trucks (2007). Also creates traffic monitoring systems. MobilEye (Jerusalem, Israel). Vision systems that warn automobile drivers of danger, provide adaptive cruise control, and give driver assistance. Digital Photography Cloudburst Research (Vancouver, Canada). Develops fully automated image stitching for the iPhone platform (Disclosure: author of this list is a founder of the company). Kolor (Challes les eaux, France). Develops the Autopano Pro software for automated panorama stitching of digital images. Also provides high-dynamic-range imaging by combining multiple exposures. Eye and Head Tracking Smart Eye (Göteborg, Sweden). Systems to track eye and gaze position. Applications include detection of drowsiness or inattention in drivers. SMI (Berlin, Germany). Eye and graze tracking systems, including contact-free systems. Film and Video: Sports analysis Hawkeye (Winchester, UK). Uses multiple cameras to precisely track tennis and cricket balls for sports refereeing and commentary. LiberoVision (Zurich, Switzerland). Software for 3D visualization of sporting events for sports broadcasting and analysis. QuesTec (Deer Park, New York). Systems for tracking sports action to provide enhanced broadcasts. Sport Universal (Nice, France). Systems for tracking sports players and the ball in real time, using some human assistance. Sportvision (New York, NY). Vision systems to provide real-time graphics augmentaion for sports broadcasts. Film and Video 2D3 (Oxford, UK). Systems for tracking objects in video or film and solving for 3D motion to allow for precise augmentation with 3D computer graphics. Image Metrics (Manchester, England). A markerless tracking system for the human face that can be used to map detailed motion and facial expressions to synthetic characters. Imagineer Systems (Guildford, UK). Computer vision software for the film and video industries. MirriAd (London, UK). Uses computer vision methods to track consistent regions in video and insert virtual advertising. Mova (San Francisco, California). Provides precise 3D measurement and tracking of thousands of points on the human face or other surfaces for character annimation. Uses invisible phosphorescent makeup to provide a random texture for stereo matching. Orad (Kfar Saba, Israel). Systems for creating virtual television sets, sports analysis, and other applications of real-time augmented reality. Ooyala (Mountain View, California). Video content management and delivery, including object identification and tracking. PVI (Lawrenceville, New Jersey). Uses computer vision to track pan/tilt/zoom camera motion in natural scenes to insert virtual advertising or sports augmentation. Games GestureTek (Toronto, Canada). Tracks human gestures for playing grames or interacting with computers. Reactrix (Redwood City, California). Interactive advertising for projected displays that tracks human gestures. Sony EyeToy uses computer vision to track the hand and body motions of players to control the Sony Playstation. Sales were over 10 million units by 2008. (Wikipedia) General purpose vision systems 3DV Systems (Yokneam, Israel). Real-time sensing of depth registered with color images. Uses a low-cost time-of-flight sensor. Cognex (Natick, Massachusetts) is one of the largest machine vision companies (800 employees, 2007). Develops systems for inspection and localization tasks, people counting, and many other areas. (Hoover's) Evolution Robotics (Pasadena, California). Vision systems for object recognition and navigation. Applications include mobile robotics, grocery retail, and recognition from cell phone cameras. Imagemetry (Prague, Czech Republic). Image processing and computer vision for industrial inspection, image forensics and other applications. Matrox Imaging (Dorval, Quebec, Canada). Software and hardware for machine vision applications. National Instruments (Austin, Texas). Vision software and systems used for many applications, including inspection, biomedical, and security. Neptec (Ottawa, Canada). Laser-based 3D vision systems for use on the space shuttles and other applications. Newton Research Labs (Renton, Washington). Vision systems for high-speed tracking and mobile robots. Point Grey Research (Vancouver, Canada). Real-time stereo vision systems, spherical vision systems, and imaging hardware. Sarnoff (Princeton, New Jersey). Vision systems for tracking, registration, navigation, biometrics, and other applications. Seeing Machines (Canberra, Australia). Systems for tracking head position and eye gaze direction. Soliton (Bangalore, India). Smart cameras for industrial inspection and other applications. SpikeNet (Toulouse, France). Trainable vision systems for performing recognition. Supercomputing Systems (Zurich, Switzerland). Developed the leanXcam, a low-cost intelligent camera using open source software. TYZX (Menlo Park, California). Produces real-time stereo vision systems that use a custom chip for fast stereo matching. VISIONx (Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada). Vision systems for high accuracy measurement and other applications. Vitronic (Wiesbaden, Germany). Vision systems for inspection, manufacturing, logistics, traffic management, and other applications. Image search Incogna (Ottawa, Canada). Develops a system for image search on the web. Uses GPUs for increased performance. LTU Technologies (Paris, France). Image retrieval based on content. Riya (San Mateo, California). Develops a system for visual search of products (available as Like.com) Polar Rose (Malmo, Sweden). Image retrieval based on face recognition. Industrial automation and inspection: Automotive industry BrainTech (Vancouver, Canada). Systems for vision-guided robotics in the automotive industry and other robotics applications. CogniTens (Ramat-Hasharon, Israel). Has developed a system for accurate scanning of 3D objects for the automotive and other industries. The system uses a 4-camera head with projection of textured illumination to enable accurate stereo matching. Perceptron (Plymouth, Michigan). Creates 3D laser scanning systems for automotive and other applications. Industrial automation and inspection: Electronics industry ICOS Vision Systems (Heverlee, Belgium). Electronics inspection systems for component assembly and semiconductor manufacturing. KLA-Tencor (San Jose, California). Systems for inspection and process control in semiconductor manufacturing. Orbotech (Yavne, Israel). Automated inspection systems for printed circuit boards and flat panel displays. (Hoover's) RVSI Inspection (Hauppauge, New York). Vision systems for electronics inspection and assembly. Industrial automation and inspection: Food and agriculture Dipix Technologies (Ottawa, Canada). Vision systems for the baked goods industry. Systems monitor bake color, shape, and size of bread, cookies, tortillas, etc. Ellips (Eindhoven, The Netherlands). Vision systems for inspecting and grading fruits and vegetables. Industrial automation and inspection: Printing and textiles Advanced Vision Technology (Hod Hasharon, Israel). Systems to inspect output from high-speed printing presses. Elbit Vision Systems Ltd. (Yoqneam, Israel). Vision systems for textile inspection and other applications. Mnemonics (Mt. Laurel, New Jersey). Vision systems for print quality inspection and other applications. Xiris Automation (Burlington, Ontario, Canada). Inspection for the printing and packaging industries. Industrial automation and inspection: Other Adept (Livermore, California). Industrial robots with vision for part placement and inspection. Avalon Vision Solutions (Lithia Springs, Georgia). Vision systems for the plastics industry. Basler (Ahrensburg, Germany). Inspection systems for optical media, sealants, displays, and other industries. Hermary Opto Electronics (Coquitlam, BC, Canada). Develops 3D scanners for sawmills and other applications. JLI vision (Soborg, Denmark). Vision systems for industrial inspection tasks, including food processing, glassware, medical devices, and the steel industry. LMI Technologies (Vancouver, Canada). Develops 3D vision systems using laser sensors for inspection of wood products, roads, automotive manufacturing, and other areas. MVTec (Munich, Germany). Vision systems for inspection and other applications. NeuroCheck GmbH (Remseck, Germany). Inspection systems for quality control. PPT Vision (Eden Prairie, Minnesota). Vision systems for automotive, pharmaceutical, electronics, and other industries. Seegrid (Pittsburgh, PA). Industrial mobile robots that use vision for mapping and navigation. SICK IVP (Linköping, Sweden). Smart cameras using a custom processor for high-speed industrial applications. SIGHTech (San Jose, California). Trainable computer vision systems for inspection and automation. Virtek Vision International (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada). Laser-based inspection and templating systems. Wintriss Engineering (San Diego, California). Vision systems for web inspection applications. Medical and biomedical Claron Technology (Toronto, Canada). Uses real-time stereo vision to detect and track the pose of markers for surgical applications. CTI Mirada Solutions (Siemens) (Oxford, UK). Systems for quantitative analysis of medical imaging, including breast cancer diagnosis. Cynovad (Montreal, Canada). Systems for matching the color of prosthetic teeth to natural color of patient's teeth. Noesis (St. Laurent, Quebec, Canada). Software for biomedical and other scientific image analysis. People tracking Brickstream (Atlanta, GA). Tracking people within stores for sales, marketing, and security. Reveal (Auckland, New Zealand). Systems for counting and tracking pedestrians using overhead cameras. VideoMining (State College, PA). Tracking people in stores to improve marketing and service. Safety monitoring MG International (Boulogne, France). The Poseidon System monitors swimming pools to warn of accidents and drowning victims. Security and Biometrics Aimetis (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada). Systems for intelligent video surveillance. Aurora (Northampton, UK). Systems for biometric face recognition. AuthenTec (Melbourne, Florida). Fingerprint recognition systems with a novel sensor. Cernium (Reston, Virginia). Systems for behavior recognition in real-time video surveillance. Digital Persona (Redwood City, California). Fingerprint recognition systems. EVITECH (Paris, France). Smart video surveillance systems. Equinox (New York, NY). Security systems using novel sensors, such as registered visible and thermal infrared images and use of polarized lighting. Honeywell (Morristown, New Jersey). Range of video surveillance systems and analysis software. IntelliVision (San Jose, California). Automated monitoring systems, including face and object recognition. L-1 Identity Solutions (Stamford, Connecticut). Fingerprint, iris, and face recognition systems as well as other security applications. (Hoover's) ObjectVideo (Reston, Virginia). Automated video surveillance products for tracking, classification, and activity recognition. Vidient (Sunnyvale, California). Video surveillance systems with behavior recognition. Vitamin D (Menlo Park, California). Detection and monitoring of people in video streams. Vision-Box (Lisbon, Portugal). Face verification and other biometrics for passport control. Three-dimensional modeling Creative Dimension Software (Guildford, UK). Creates 3D models from a set of images. Objects are imaged on a calibration mat. Eos Systems (Vancouver, Canada). PhotoModeler software allows creation of texture-mapped 3-D models from a small number of photographs. Uses some manual user input. Eyetronics (Leuven, Belgium). Produces a 3-D scanner for the human body using structured light. InSpeck (Quebec City, Canada). Uses projected light to create a full 3-D textured model of the human face or body in sub-second times. Traffic and road management Appian Technology (Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, UK). Systems for reading automobile license plates. Image Sensing Systems (St. Paul, Minnesota). Created the Autoscope system that uses roadside video cameras for real-time traffic management. Over 40,000 cameras are in use. Yotta (Leamington Spa, UK). Imaging and scanning solutions for road network surveying.

source: from http://people.cs.ubc.ca/~lowe/vision.html

self discipline system

Couple of weeks ago I decided to enhance my self discipline and my time management. So I gathered all the information I could and summarized it all in two pages and four sections which constitute a system for self discipline. I thought even though it is not directly related to computer vision, nevertheless it can be helpful for others so I decided to post it on the blog. The four parts are:

- Beliefs
- System Definition
- Avoidance System
- Motivation System


Beliefs

1. Observation, Imitation, Repetition, Internalization (Simulation); is how to establish a new habit.
2. Self discipline is your ability to make yourself do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you like it or not. Sacrifice is the key to self discipline which is to delay gratfication in short term for greater reward in long term.
3. To experience true freedom, you must prove to yourself that you are the master of your own destiny. When lack of discipline rules enslavement and mediocrity follows, not freedom.
4. Your discipline is your best friend; Your guilt is not. Self hurt is not self discipline. Develop your habit and your routine steadily and then enjoy it.
5. Don't waste your time with things that are out of your control sphere. Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
6. When you discipline yourself to do what is hard, you gain access to a realm of results that are denied everyone else. The willingness to do what is difficult is like having a key to a special private treasure room.
7. You procrastinate because you're just plain stubborn, and you're determined to show others they aren't going to push you into doing anything.
8. Early to bed, early to rise; makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
9. Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning and focused effort.
10. Most basic mistake people make with respect to self discipline is the failure to accurately perceive and accept their present situation.

System Definition

1. Use of Google Calendar as an efficient way of organizing your tasks.
2. Time should be allocated according to:
• One task at a time with a deadline which must be met.
• Heavy lifting with time chunks
• Consider a downtime and stay off-line the rest.
3. Each task should use initials from Input / Output / Processing.
4. Start the day with a daily plan.
5. Get early to bed; Get early to work.
6. Super fast morning exit.

Avoidance System

The Info Addict: You have to know every stupid bit of information which is on the net.

The Chatty Kathy: Born to socialize, you have astounding oral communication skills and can't resist exercising them at every opportunity.

The Perfectionist: Finishing tasks to your satisfaction is such a problem you need more time zones, not just more time.

The Aquarian: There is such a thing as being too "laid back" .

The Over-Commiter: Your problem is you can't say 'No'.

The Fireman: For you, every event is a crisis.

The Nostalgic: You like to feel at your 80s and blab about your life all day long.



Motivation System

1. Start small, go step by step and build on small successes.
2. Time Management equals Self-Discipline & More Self-Discipline equals More Success.
3. Be innovative - think of better ways of doing things.
4. Self discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.

At the end I should mention that I would be very happy to hear your opinion about this article.

Call for Papers

Type	Abbr.	Name	Date	Location	Deadline
Special issue	JVCI	JVCI: Special Issue on Large-Scale Image and Video Search	Sep 1 2010		Nov 1 2009	Link
Conference	ICCP	International Conference on Computational Photography (ICCP 2010)	Mar 29 2010 - Mar 30 2010	United States	Nov 2 2009	Link
Conference	FCV	Workshop on Frontiers of Computer Vision	Feb 4 2010 - Feb 6 2010	Japan	Nov 6 2009	Link
Conference	CVPR	CVPR 2010	Jun 13 2010 - Jun 18 2010	United States	Nov 19 2009	Link
Conference	ECCM	Symposium on Image Processing and Visualization (at ECCM IV)	May 16 2010 - May 21 2010	France	Nov 20 2009	Link
Conference	VISAPP	International Conference on Computer Vision Theory and Applications (VISAPP 2010)	May 17 2010 - May 21 2010	France	Nov 22 2009	Link
Conference	IVAPP	International Conference on Information Visualization Theory and Applications (IVAPP)	May 17 2010 - May 21 2010	France	Nov 22 2009	Link
Special issue	JIVP	JIVP Special Issue: Dependable Semantic Inference	Jun 1 2010		Dec 1 2009	Link
Special issue	JSTSP	JSTSP Special Issue on Recent Advances in Video Processing for Consumer Displays	Jul 24 2010		Dec 4 2009	Link
Special issue	IEEE	IEEE Multimedia: Knowledge Discovery Over Community-Contributed Multimedia Data	Oct 1 2010		Dec 15 2009	Link
Conference	ICPR	International Conference on Pattern Recognition (ICPR)	Aug 23 2010 - Aug 26 2010	Turkey	Jan 15 2010	Link
Conference	WBIR	Workshop on Biomedical Image Registration	Jul 11 2010 - Jul 13 2010	Germany	Jan 18 2010	Link
Conference	ICISP	International Conference on Image and Signal Processing (ICISP 2010)	Jun 30 2010 - Jul 2 2010	Canada	Jan 22 2010	Link
Conference	ICIP	International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP)	Sep 26 2010 - Sep 29 2010	China	Jan 25 2010	Link
Special issue	CVIU	CVIU: Feature-oriented Image and Video Computing	Sep 1 2010		Jan 31 2010	Link
Conference	IVPCV	Intl Conf on Image and Video Processing and Computer Vision	Jul 12 2010 - Jul 14 2010		Feb 1 2010	Link
Conference	MESA	Symposium on Embedded Computer Vision at MESA	Jul 15 2010 - Jul 17 2010	China	Feb 12 2010	Link
Conference	ECCV	European Conference on Computer Vision (ECCV2010)	Sep 5 2010 - Sep 11 2010	Greece	Mar 10 2010	Link
Special issue	TPAMI	IEEE TPAMI Special Issue on Real-world Face Recognition	Jan 1 2011		Mar 15 2010	Link
Conference	ACCV	Asian Conference on Computer Vision (ACCV2010)	Nov 8 2010 - Nov 12 2010	New Zealand	Jun 1 2010	Link
Special issue	SIVIP	Special Issue on Unconstrained Biometrics: Advances and Trends	Jan 1 2011		Jul 30 2010	Link
Conference	3DOR	Eurographics Workshop on 3D Object Retrieval (3DOR 2010)	May 2 2010	Sweden	Jan 11 2011	Link
Conference	ICDAR	International Conference on Document Analysis and Recognition (ICDAR 2011)	Sep 18 2011 - Sep 21 2011	China	Mar 1 2011	Link

where to start from?

If you are interested in understanding AI more than conventional science fiction books and Hollywood movies you can take a look at following links. I have gathered some links that contain a lot of material from beginners to advanced level including live code.

www.aaai.org
Association for Advancement of Artificial Intelligence In the section of AI Topics of this website you can find very informative essays for beginners as well as advanced material.


www.generation5.org
This website has gathered good deal of material and also code in different aspects of Artificial Intelligence.


The Computer Vision Homepage
Is a website dedicated specifically to computer vision. There are also links from this site to all major research labs in computer vision.

what is it all about?

What is so interesting about building intelligent agents? Why do we become so excited about seeing a man made creature perform intelligence? Maybe it is our curiosity to understand ourselves better. What if we succeed in AI to some good degree? Should there be any limit to the products coming out of the field? Isn't there a need for new paradigms in the field? There are many questions like this that are bugging my mind. I will be trying to turn this blog into a place for discussing these issues along with technical issues to do with AI with a focus on Machine Vision.

There are many views about what intelligence is, but I think intelligence can be best explained through perception. I consider perception to be the recognition of objects and understanding their relation to one another in a scene. Thus I will be treating Computer Vision as the corner stone of the blog. I will be trying to put together as much good stuff about the state of the art research done in the area and also to gather a general idea of what is going on in broader AI field.

For me it is all about my passion for Computer Vision, and AI. so... I will be trying to post an article, an essay, every week or two, on what I have came across which was interesting for me in the field . I will also throw in some ideas for discussion on topics that seem to be interesting topics to have a discussion about.

Welcome to SerenaVisions and I hope you will enjoy and also participate via the comments section or by sending me any suggestions or ideas you have via info@serenavisions.com. I would be also honored to know what you think about the blog and how I can improve its approach.