Monthly Archives: September 2014

Research on Human Mocap Data Classification

The increasing demand for rendering smooth and plausible 3D motion is fueling the development of motion capture (mocap) systems. This new format of high quality 3D motion data has paved its way into animation movies, high-end computer games, biomechanics and robotics (see the accompanying photo from [1]). Diverse applications and the rapid development of mocap systems have resulted in a large corpus of data in recent years. Automatic classification of the mocap data is essential for various database management tasks such as segmentation, indexing and retrieval.

Mr. Harshad Kadu, a MCL PhD student, and Professor C.-C. Jay Kuo recently proposed a new framework to tackle the human mocap data classification problem using novel spatial/temporal feature representations, machine learning and decision fusion concepts. The proposed solution methods are tested on a wide variety of sequences from the CMU mocap database, and a correct classification rate of 99.6% is achieved, which is the state-of-the-art technique in the field. This work has been accepted for publication in the IEEE Trans. on Multimedia.

[1] http://www.noldus.com/innovationworks/content/automated-behavior-recognition-in-humans

By |September 30th, 2014|News|Comments Off on Research on Human Mocap Data Classification|

Interview with new MCL postdoctoral Xue Wang

Xue Wang, a recently graduated Ph.D. student from Media Communications Lab at USC, decides to continue her research work as a postdoctoral associate here with us. She is so happy to study with Professor Kuo and other lab members. Now we have an interview with her, talking about the change of roles between a Ph.D. student and a post-doc researcher and lifelong study plan.

Could you briefly describe yourself and your current research?

My research is an extension of the previous work on the objective evaluation of cataract surgical techniques using image processing and computer vision methods. The state-of-art surgeon evaluation tools primarily require human observers to fill out a grading questionnaire after viewing a video of the procedure, a technique that is subject to observer bias and variability. Therefore, it is hoped that our work could be extremely helpful in developing reliable computational analysis methods that can precisely and automatically identify quantitative and qualitative evaluation for surgical techniques.

Why do you choose to take a post-doc position and what’s your future plan?

I set up my career goal to become a faculty in the university when I started my Ph.D. at USC. I enjoy doing research and communicating with fellow workmates, and working as a post-doc is necessary step in the preparation for becoming faculty. To make this decision, I talked with different professors about the ongoing research work and future plan. Also, I got great help from Jing Zhang, one of our MCLab alumni, who is now pursuing her post-doc at Yale University. I’d apply for faculty position in future and I need to improve myself more. One aspect is about the research; I will enhance my work and try to seize any off-campus presentation opportunity [...]

By |September 21st, 2014|News|Comments Off on Interview with new MCL postdoctoral Xue Wang|

Interview with new MCL visitor Jeong Seyoon

Dr. Seyoon Jeong, a principal researcher in Broadcasting and Telecommunications Media Research Laboratory of Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), have been visiting Media Communications Lab (USC) since this September. Now we have an interview with him, talking about his research and thoughts on MCLab.

Could you briefly describe yourself and your previous research experience?

I received BS, MS degrees from Inha University in 1995, and 1997, respectively. Then I finished my Ph.D degree from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Aug. 2014. Since December 1996, I joined ETRI and focused on the development of international standards such as Scalable Video Coding (SVC), High Efficient Video Coding (HEVC). Currently, my research interests are video coding, super resolution and parallel computing for realistic broadcasting applications such as 3DTV and UHDTV.

What were your first impression of USC and MCLab?

I just arrived USC this month and not very familiar with the environment. People in the lab are very nice and help me a lot. I met Hyunsuk Ko this Monday. He showed me around the campus and our lab. USC is a very diverse university. People from all over the world come to here for their dreams. It is amazing that happens to meet some Koreans when walking on campus and chats with them, just like at home.  As for Media Communications Lab, it is a big family. Professor Kuo is very warm-hearted to introduce his group to me. I really like his style that treats his students as his children. I feel so lucky to join this group.

What is your future expectation in MCLab?

Actually, this is the second year of the UHDTV collaborative project from ETRI and USC MCLab. For the first year, Dr. Kim [...]

By |September 15th, 2014|News|Comments Off on Interview with new MCL visitor Jeong Seyoon|

Interview with new MCL member Junting Zhang

In 2014 Fall semester, Junting Zhang becomes a new master student in MCLab. She received the B.S. degree in Communication Engineering from Xiamen University in 2014. Now we have an interview with her, talking about her background and her thoughts on USC and MCLab.

 

What were your first impression of USC and MCLab?

USC is famous for its culture diversity and top-notch academic achievements, and it is almost my dream school. I came from Xiamen University, which is also located in a coastal city, so I cannot help comparing these two universities. They both have charming campus landscapes and rich resources, but USC is more idyllic. I found adorable squirrels running through the crowd. During the welcome week, everybody kept saying the slogan “Fight on, Trojans! “, which really cheered me up. I am looking forward to starting a brand new journey here.

As for MCL, Professor Kuo and senior students are really nice and warm-hearted. They make MCL like a home for me. They also helped me a lot to adapt to the new environment, especially Yuzhuo and Xiaqing. I feel lucky to join this group. I have chatted with several group members.  Everyone is self-motivated and experienced in research. I am sure that I will gain tons of hands-on experience and make great friends here.

 

Could you briefly describe your previous research experience?

When I was an undergraduate student, I majored in communications. I took part in the National Innovation Training Program, working on haze removal for blurred images and surveillance videos. My undergraduate thesis is about LDPC codes decoding algorithm design and analysis over a partial response channel, which is the model of magnetic recording system.

 

What is your future expectation in MCLab?

My background matches MCL perfectly. [...]

By |September 7th, 2014|News|Comments Off on Interview with new MCL member Junting Zhang|

Interview with new MCL member Chien-Yi Wang

In 2014 Fall semester, Chien-Yi Wang will become a new Ph.D. student in MCLab. Chien-Yi Wang received the B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from National Taiwan University in 2013. He arrived at USC a month ago, and now we have an interview with him, talking about his background and his thoughts on USC and MCLab.

What were your first impression of USC and MCLab?

I have heard of USC in its great learning environment and plenty of resources. At first sight, the buildings in USC are amazing and beautiful. There are usually many trees and animals around the campus, bringing lots of energy and spirits. I also notice that there are always some comfortable benches and tables, accompanying with fabulous fountains, for people to study and chat outside. I am so excited and cannot wait to study in this wonderful campus.
As for MCLab, I think people here are really nice and friendly. Some senior students in the lab introduce many places in the campus for me, and try to help me to get used to the life in Los Angeles. I also got many assistances and advices from them in academy and living before I entered the school. It’s really great to become one of this big warm family.

Could you briefly describe your previous research experience?

In the last two years of my B.S. program, I joined the Wireless Communication Lab and initiated a research project on multimedia communication subject. I have studied the protocols of different wireless systems and learned how to use complex encoding technologies such as H.264 on video sources. I found it interesting to design some algorithms and implement them on the wireless driver. I finally proposed a scheme to improve the [...]

By |September 1st, 2014|News|Comments Off on Interview with new MCL member Chien-Yi Wang|