Robust affine registration method using line/surface normals and correntropy criterion

The problem of matching point clouds is an efficient way of registration, which is significant for many research fields including computer vision, machine learning, and robotics. There may be linear or non-linear transformation between point clouds, but determining the affine relation is more challenging among linear cases. Various methods have been presented to overcome this problem in the literature and one of them is the affine variant of the iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm. However, traditional affine ICP variants are highly sensitive to effects such as noises, deformations, and outliers; the least-square metric is substituted with the correntropy criterion to increase the robustness of ICPs to such effects. Correntropy-based robust affine ICPs available in the literature use point-to-point metric to estimate transformation between point clouds. Conversely, in this study, a line/surface normal that examines point-to-curve or point-to-plane distances is employed together with the correntropy criterion for affine point cloud registration problems. First, the maximum correntropy criterion measure is built for line/surface normal conditions. Then, the closed-form solution that maximizes the similarity between point sets is achieved for 2D registration and extended for 3D registration. Finally, the application procedure of the developed robust affine ICP method is given and its registration performance is examined through extensive experiments on 2D and 3D point sets. The results achieved highlight that our method can align point clouds more robustly and precisely than the state-of-the-art methods in the literature, while the registration time of the process remains at reasonable levels.

A comparison of traceable spatial angle autocollimator calibrations performed by PTB and VTT MIKES

Autocollimators are versatile devices for angle metrology used in a wide range of applications in engineering and manufacturing. A modern electronic autocollimator generally features two measuring axes and can thus fully determine the surface normal of an optical surface relative to it in space. Until recently, however, the calibration capabilities of the national metrology institutes were limited to plane angles. Although it was possible to calibrate both measuring axes independently of each other, it was not feasible to determine their crosstalk if angular deflections were present in both axes simultaneously. To expand autocollimator calibrations from plane angles to spatial angles, PTB and VTT MIKES have created dedicated calibration devices which are based on different measurement principles and accomplish the task of measurand traceability in different ways. Comparing calibrations of a transfer standard makes it possible to detect systematic measurement errors of the two devices and to evaluate the validity of their uncertainty budgets. The importance of measurand traceability via calibration for a broad spectrum of autocollimator applications is one of the motivating factors behind the creation of both devices and for this comparison of the calibration capabilities of the two national metrology institutes. The latter is the focus of the work presented here.

Luster measurement of pearl by UV-Vis reflectance spectroscopy

Pearl is an organic gem with its unique color and luster. One of the factors determining the quality and price of pearl is the luster. The different luster of pearls could be related to the different phase structures such as aragonite, calcite and vaterite. Previously, a gloss meter has been developed to measure light specularly reflected at 45° to the surface normal. Six different visual criteria for measuring gloss have been determined. Luster, a type of gloss, was defined as the ratio of specularly reflected light and that diffusely reflected normal to the surface. In practice, luster may be interpreted as relative brightness of specularly and diffusely reflecting areas. Due to the roundness of pearl, we measured the luster of pearl samples by a portable UV-Vis spectrophotometer with an integrating sphere. The luster could be calculated from the difference of CIELAB lightness measured by SCI and SCE geometries.

Demonstration of light reflection concepts for rendering realistic 3D tree images

With advancements in computer graphics, creating natural images has always been the main purpose, image rendering is all based on principles of physics. So, understanding the physics of image rendering will enable us to create the most realistic images. A ray of light hit a surface with different orientation and reflects as per the rules of physics. It is difficult to calculate the light reflection of complex foliage, such as trees, so, the reflection of this natural complexity needs to be adapted to rendering situations. In this research, the researchers provide demonstrations to enable students to understand the light reflection in nature, light calculation in computer graphics and methods to apply them to render realistic tree images. The researchers assign students to render 3D realistic tree images to assess the students’ understanding by applying the diffuse reflection value, specular reflection value and surface normal direction to render realistic tree images. The researchers find that most students understand of diffuse reflection, specular reflection, and surface normal direction causes the rendering results to be most realistic.

Calculation of statistical absorption coefficient using ensemble averaged surface normal impedance of material

To predict and control the indoor sound field, it is important to comprehend sound absorption characteristics of building materials. In the previous studies, the authors have proposed an in-situ sound absorption measurement method of materials using ensemble averaging technique, namely EA method. The method yields a simple and efficient in-situ measurement of surface normal impedance of materials at random-incidence. In this paper, the authors calculate the statistical absorption coefficient using the surface normal impedance of material by the EA method to obtain random incidence absorption coefficient. At first, the procedure of calculating the statistical absorption coefficient from the normal impedance by EA method is described. Next, the sound absorption characteristics for five kinds of materials are measured by the EA method and the reverberation room method. Finally, the statistical absorption coefficients are calculated from results obtained by the EA method and are compared with absorption coefficients by the reverberation room method.