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20 results (View BibTeX file of all listed publications)

2007

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Learning static Gestalt laws through dynamic experience

Ostrovsky, Y., Wulff, J., Sinha, P.

Journal of Vision, 7(9):315-315, ARVO, June 2007 (article)

Abstract
The Gestalt laws (Wertheimer 1923) are widely regarded as the rules that help us parse the world into objects. However, it is unclear as to how these laws are acquired by an infant's visual system. Classically, these “laws” have been presumed to be innate (Kellman and Spelke 1983). But, more recent work in infant development, showing the protracted time-course over which these grouping principles emerge (e.g., Johnson and Aslin 1995; Craton 1996), suggests that visual experience might play a role in their genesis. Specifically, our studies of patients with late-onset vision (Project Prakash; VSS 2006) and evidence from infant development both point to an early role of common motion cues for object grouping. Here we explore the possibility that the privileged status of motion in the developmental timeline is not happenstance, but rather serves to bootstrap the learning of static Gestalt cues. Our approach involves computational analyses of real-world motion sequences to investigate whether primitive optic flow information is correlated with static figural cues that could eventually come to serve as proxies for grouping in the form of Gestalt principles. We calculated local optic flow maps and then examined how similarity of motion across image patches co-varied with similarity of certain figural properties in static frames. Results indicate that patches with similar motion are much more likely to have similar luminance, color, and orientation as compared to patches with dissimilar motion vectors. This regularity suggests that, in principle, common motion extracted from dynamic visual experience can provide enough information to bootstrap region grouping based on luminance and color and contour continuation mechanisms in static scenes. These observations, coupled with the cited experimental studies, lend credence to the hypothesis that static Gestalt laws might be learned through a bootstrapping process based on early dynamic experience.

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

2007

Ostrovsky, Y., Wulff, J., Sinha, P. Learning static Gestalt laws through dynamic experience Journal of Vision, 7(9):315-315, ARVO, June 2007 (article)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

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Neuromotor prosthesis development

Donoghue, J., Hochberg, L., Nurmikko, A., Black, M., Simeral, J., Friehs, G.

Medicine & Health Rhode Island, 90(1):12-15, January 2007 (article)

Abstract
Article describes a neuromotor prosthesis (NMP), in development at Brown University, that records human brain signals, decodes them, and transforms them into movement commands. An NMP is described as a system consisting of a neural interface, a decoding system, and a user interface, also called an effector; a closed-loop system would be completed by a feedback signal from the effector to the brain. The interface is based on neural spiking, a source of information-rich, rapid, complex control signals from the nervous system. The NMP described, named BrainGate, consists of a match-head sized platform with 100 thread-thin electrodes implanted just into the surface of the motor cortex where commands to move the hand emanate. Neural signals are decoded by a rack of computers that displays the resultant output as the motion of a cursor on a computer monitor. While computer cursor motion represents a form of virtual device control, this same command signal could be routed to a device to command motion of paralyzed muscles or the actions of prosthetic limbs. The researchers’ overall goal is the development of a fully implantable, wireless multi-neuron sensor for broad research, neural prosthetic, and human neurodiagnostic applications.

pdf [BibTex]

Donoghue, J., Hochberg, L., Nurmikko, A., Black, M., Simeral, J., Friehs, G. Neuromotor prosthesis development Medicine & Health Rhode Island, 90(1):12-15, January 2007 (article)

pdf [BibTex]

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On the spatial statistics of optical flow

Roth, S., Black, M. J.

International Journal of Computer Vision, 74(1):33-50, 2007 (article)

Abstract
We present an analysis of the spatial and temporal statistics of "natural" optical flow fields and a novel flow algorithm that exploits their spatial statistics. Training flow fields are constructed using range images of natural scenes and 3D camera motions recovered from hand-held and car-mounted video sequences. A detailed analysis of optical flow statistics in natural scenes is presented and machine learning methods are developed to learn a Markov random field model of optical flow. The prior probability of a flow field is formulated as a Field-of-Experts model that captures the spatial statistics in overlapping patches and is trained using contrastive divergence. This new optical flow prior is compared with previous robust priors and is incorporated into a recent, accurate algorithm for dense optical flow computation. Experiments with natural and synthetic sequences illustrate how the learned optical flow prior quantitatively improves flow accuracy and how it captures the rich spatial structure found in natural scene motion.

pdf preprint pdf from publisher [BibTex]

Roth, S., Black, M. J. On the spatial statistics of optical flow International Journal of Computer Vision, 74(1):33-50, 2007 (article)

pdf preprint pdf from publisher [BibTex]

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Assistive technology and robotic control using MI ensemble-based neural interface systems in humans with tetraplegia

Donoghue, J. P., Nurmikko, A., Black, M. J., Hochberg, L.

Journal of Physiology, Special Issue on Brain Computer Interfaces, 579, pages: 603-611, 2007 (article)

Abstract
This review describes the rationale, early stage development, and initial human application of neural interface systems (NISs) for humans with paralysis. NISs are emerging medical devices designed to allowpersonswith paralysis to operate assistive technologies or to reanimatemuscles based upon a command signal that is obtained directly fromthe brain. Such systems require the development of sensors to detect brain signals, decoders to transformneural activity signals into a useful command, and an interface for the user.We review initial pilot trial results of an NIS that is based on an intracortical microelectrode sensor that derives control signals from the motor cortex.We review recent findings showing, first, that neurons engaged by movement intentions persist in motor cortex years after injury or disease to the motor system, and second, that signals derived from motor cortex can be used by persons with paralysis to operate a range of devices. We suggest that, with further development, this form of NIS holds promise as a useful new neurotechnology for those with limited motor function or communication.We also discuss the additional potential for neural sensors to be used in the diagnosis and management of various neurological conditions and as a new way to learn about human brain function.

pdf preprint pdf from publisher DOI [BibTex]

Donoghue, J. P., Nurmikko, A., Black, M. J., Hochberg, L. Assistive technology and robotic control using MI ensemble-based neural interface systems in humans with tetraplegia Journal of Physiology, Special Issue on Brain Computer Interfaces, 579, pages: 603-611, 2007 (article)

pdf preprint pdf from publisher DOI [BibTex]

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Probabilistically modeling and decoding neural population activity in motor cortex

Black, M. J., Donoghue, J. P.

In Toward Brain-Computer Interfacing, pages: 147-159, (Editors: Dornhege, G. and del R. Millan, J. and Hinterberger, T. and McFarland, D. and Muller, K.-R.), MIT Press, London, 2007 (incollection)

pdf [BibTex]

Black, M. J., Donoghue, J. P. Probabilistically modeling and decoding neural population activity in motor cortex In Toward Brain-Computer Interfacing, pages: 147-159, (Editors: Dornhege, G. and del R. Millan, J. and Hinterberger, T. and McFarland, D. and Muller, K.-R.), MIT Press, London, 2007 (incollection)

pdf [BibTex]

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Denoising archival films using a learned Bayesian model

Moldovan, T. M., Roth, S., Black, M. J.

(CS-07-03), Brown University, Department of Computer Science, 2007 (techreport)

pdf [BibTex]

Moldovan, T. M., Roth, S., Black, M. J. Denoising archival films using a learned Bayesian model (CS-07-03), Brown University, Department of Computer Science, 2007 (techreport)

pdf [BibTex]

2006

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Implicit Wiener Series, Part II: Regularised estimation

Gehler, P., Franz, M.

(148), Max Planck Institute, 2006 (techreport)

pdf [BibTex]

2006

Gehler, P., Franz, M. Implicit Wiener Series, Part II: Regularised estimation (148), Max Planck Institute, 2006 (techreport)

pdf [BibTex]

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HumanEva: Synchronized video and motion capture dataset for evaluation of articulated human motion

Sigal, L., Black, M. J.

(CS-06-08), Brown University, Department of Computer Science, 2006 (techreport)

pdf abstract [BibTex]

Sigal, L., Black, M. J. HumanEva: Synchronized video and motion capture dataset for evaluation of articulated human motion (CS-06-08), Brown University, Department of Computer Science, 2006 (techreport)

pdf abstract [BibTex]

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Bayesian population decoding of motor cortical activity using a Kalman filter

Wu, W., Gao, Y., Bienenstock, E., Donoghue, J. P., Black, M. J.

Neural Computation, 18(1):80-118, 2006 (article)

Abstract
Effective neural motor prostheses require a method for decoding neural activity representing desired movement. In particular, the accurate reconstruction of a continuous motion signal is necessary for the control of devices such as computer cursors, robots, or a patient's own paralyzed limbs. For such applications, we developed a real-time system that uses Bayesian inference techniques to estimate hand motion from the firing rates of multiple neurons. In this study, we used recordings that were previously made in the arm area of primary motor cortex in awake behaving monkeys using a chronically implanted multielectrode microarray. Bayesian inference involves computing the posterior probability of the hand motion conditioned on a sequence of observed firing rates; this is formulated in terms of the product of a likelihood and a prior. The likelihood term models the probability of firing rates given a particular hand motion. We found that a linear gaussian model could be used to approximate this likelihood and could be readily learned from a small amount of training data. The prior term defines a probabilistic model of hand kinematics and was also taken to be a linear gaussian model. Decoding was performed using a Kalman filter, which gives an efficient recursive method for Bayesian inference when the likelihood and prior are linear and gaussian. In off-line experiments, the Kalman filter reconstructions of hand trajectory were more accurate than previously reported results. The resulting decoding algorithm provides a principled probabilistic model of motor-cortical coding, decodes hand motion in real time, provides an estimate of uncertainty, and is straightforward to implement. Additionally the formulation unifies and extends previous models of neural coding while providing insights into the motor-cortical code.

pdf preprint pdf from publisher abstract [BibTex]

Wu, W., Gao, Y., Bienenstock, E., Donoghue, J. P., Black, M. J. Bayesian population decoding of motor cortical activity using a Kalman filter Neural Computation, 18(1):80-118, 2006 (article)

pdf preprint pdf from publisher abstract [BibTex]

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Products of “Edge-perts”

Gehler, P., Welling, M.

In Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 18, pages: 419-426, (Editors: Weiss, Y. and Sch"olkopf, B. and Platt, J.), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2006 (incollection)

pdf [BibTex]

Gehler, P., Welling, M. Products of “Edge-perts” In Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 18, pages: 419-426, (Editors: Weiss, Y. and Sch"olkopf, B. and Platt, J.), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2006 (incollection)

pdf [BibTex]

2003

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Learning the statistics of people in images and video

Sidenbladh, H., Black, M. J.

International Journal of Computer Vision, 54(1-3):183-209, August 2003 (article)

Abstract
This paper address the problems of modeling the appearance of humans and distinguishing human appearance from the appearance of general scenes. We seek a model of appearance and motion that is generic in that it accounts for the ways in which people's appearance varies and, at the same time, is specific enough to be useful for tracking people in natural scenes. Given a 3D model of the person projected into an image we model the likelihood of observing various image cues conditioned on the predicted locations and orientations of the limbs. These cues are taken to be steered filter responses corresponding to edges, ridges, and motion-compensated temporal differences. Motivated by work on the statistics of natural scenes, the statistics of these filter responses for human limbs are learned from training images containing hand-labeled limb regions. Similarly, the statistics of the filter responses in general scenes are learned to define a “background” distribution. The likelihood of observing a scene given a predicted pose of a person is computed, for each limb, using the likelihood ratio between the learned foreground (person) and background distributions. Adopting a Bayesian formulation allows cues to be combined in a principled way. Furthermore, the use of learned distributions obviates the need for hand-tuned image noise models and thresholds. The paper provides a detailed analysis of the statistics of how people appear in scenes and provides a connection between work on natural image statistics and the Bayesian tracking of people.

pdf pdf from publisher code DOI [BibTex]

2003

Sidenbladh, H., Black, M. J. Learning the statistics of people in images and video International Journal of Computer Vision, 54(1-3):183-209, August 2003 (article)

pdf pdf from publisher code DOI [BibTex]

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A framework for robust subspace learning

De la Torre, F., Black, M. J.

International Journal of Computer Vision, 54(1-3):117-142, August 2003 (article)

Abstract
Many computer vision, signal processing and statistical problems can be posed as problems of learning low dimensional linear or multi-linear models. These models have been widely used for the representation of shape, appearance, motion, etc., in computer vision applications. Methods for learning linear models can be seen as a special case of subspace fitting. One draw-back of previous learning methods is that they are based on least squares estimation techniques and hence fail to account for “outliers” which are common in realistic training sets. We review previous approaches for making linear learning methods robust to outliers and present a new method that uses an intra-sample outlier process to account for pixel outliers. We develop the theory of Robust Subspace Learning (RSL) for linear models within a continuous optimization framework based on robust M-estimation. The framework applies to a variety of linear learning problems in computer vision including eigen-analysis and structure from motion. Several synthetic and natural examples are used to develop and illustrate the theory and applications of robust subspace learning in computer vision.

pdf code pdf from publisher Project Page [BibTex]

De la Torre, F., Black, M. J. A framework for robust subspace learning International Journal of Computer Vision, 54(1-3):117-142, August 2003 (article)

pdf code pdf from publisher Project Page [BibTex]

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Guest editorial: Computational vision at Brown

Black, M. J., Kimia, B.

International Journal of Computer Vision, 54(1-3):5-11, August 2003 (article)

pdf pdf from publisher [BibTex]

Black, M. J., Kimia, B. Guest editorial: Computational vision at Brown International Journal of Computer Vision, 54(1-3):5-11, August 2003 (article)

pdf pdf from publisher [BibTex]

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Robust parameterized component analysis: Theory and applications to 2D facial appearance models

De la Torre, F., Black, M. J.

Computer Vision and Image Understanding, 91(1-2):53-71, July 2003 (article)

Abstract
Principal component analysis (PCA) has been successfully applied to construct linear models of shape, graylevel, and motion in images. In particular, PCA has been widely used to model the variation in the appearance of people's faces. We extend previous work on facial modeling for tracking faces in video sequences as they undergo significant changes due to facial expressions. Here we consider person-specific facial appearance models (PSFAM), which use modular PCA to model complex intra-person appearance changes. Such models require aligned visual training data; in previous work, this has involved a time consuming and error-prone hand alignment and cropping process. Instead, the main contribution of this paper is to introduce parameterized component analysis to learn a subspace that is invariant to affine (or higher order) geometric transformations. The automatic learning of a PSFAM given a training image sequence is posed as a continuous optimization problem and is solved with a mixture of stochastic and deterministic techniques achieving sub-pixel accuracy. We illustrate the use of the 2D PSFAM model with preliminary experiments relevant to applications including video-conferencing and avatar animation.

pdf [BibTex]

De la Torre, F., Black, M. J. Robust parameterized component analysis: Theory and applications to 2D facial appearance models Computer Vision and Image Understanding, 91(1-2):53-71, July 2003 (article)

pdf [BibTex]

2002

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Bayesian Inference of Visual Motion Boundaries

Fleet, D. J., Black, M. J., Nestares, O.

In Exploring Artificial Intelligence in the New Millennium, pages: 139-174, (Editors: Lakemeyer, G. and Nebel, B.), Morgan Kaufmann Pub., July 2002 (incollection)

Abstract
This chapter addresses an open problem in visual motion analysis, the estimation of image motion in the vicinity of occlusion boundaries. With a Bayesian formulation, local image motion is explained in terms of multiple, competing, nonlinear models, including models for smooth (translational) motion and for motion boundaries. The generative model for motion boundaries explicitly encodes the orientation of the boundary, the velocities on either side, the motion of the occluding edge over time, and the appearance/disappearance of pixels at the boundary. We formulate the posterior probability distribution over the models and model parameters, conditioned on the image sequence. Approximate inference is achieved with a combination of tools: A Bayesian filter provides for online computation; factored sampling allows us to represent multimodal non-Gaussian distributions and to propagate beliefs with nonlinear dynamics from one time to the next; and mixture models are used to simplify the computation of joint prediction distributions in the Bayesian filter. To efficiently represent such a high-dimensional space, we also initialize samples using the responses of a low-level motion-discontinuity detector. The basic formulation and computational model provide a general probabilistic framework for motion estimation with multiple, nonlinear models.

pdf [BibTex]

2002

Fleet, D. J., Black, M. J., Nestares, O. Bayesian Inference of Visual Motion Boundaries In Exploring Artificial Intelligence in the New Millennium, pages: 139-174, (Editors: Lakemeyer, G. and Nebel, B.), Morgan Kaufmann Pub., July 2002 (incollection)

pdf [BibTex]

1996

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Estimating optical flow in segmented images using variable-order parametric models with local deformations

Black, M. J., Jepson, A.

IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 18(10):972-986, October 1996 (article)

Abstract
This paper presents a new model for estimating optical flow based on the motion of planar regions plus local deformations. The approach exploits brightness information to organize and constrain the interpretation of the motion by using segmented regions of piecewise smooth brightness to hypothesize planar regions in the scene. Parametric flow models are estimated in these regions in a two step process which first computes a coarse fit and estimates the appropriate parameterization of the motion of the region (two, six, or eight parameters). The initial fit is refined using a generalization of the standard area-based regression approaches. Since the assumption of planarity is likely to be violated, we allow local deformations from the planar assumption in the same spirit as physically-based approaches which model shape using coarse parametric models plus local deformations. This parametric+deformation model exploits the strong constraints of parametric approaches while retaining the adaptive nature of regularization approaches. Experimental results on a variety of images indicate that the parametric+deformation model produces accurate flow estimates while the incorporation of brightness segmentation provides precise localization of motion boundaries.

pdf pdf from publisher [BibTex]

1996

Black, M. J., Jepson, A. Estimating optical flow in segmented images using variable-order parametric models with local deformations IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 18(10):972-986, October 1996 (article)

pdf pdf from publisher [BibTex]

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On the unification of line processes, outlier rejection, and robust statistics with applications in early vision

Black, M., Rangarajan, A.

International Journal of Computer Vision , 19(1):57-92, July 1996 (article)

Abstract
The modeling of spatial discontinuities for problems such as surface recovery, segmentation, image reconstruction, and optical flow has been intensely studied in computer vision. While “line-process” models of discontinuities have received a great deal of attention, there has been recent interest in the use of robust statistical techniques to account for discontinuities. This paper unifies the two approaches. To achieve this we generalize the notion of a “line process” to that of an analog “outlier process” and show how a problem formulated in terms of outlier processes can be viewed in terms of robust statistics. We also characterize a class of robust statistical problems for which an equivalent outlier-process formulation exists and give a straightforward method for converting a robust estimation problem into an outlier-process formulation. We show how prior assumptions about the spatial structure of outliers can be expressed as constraints on the recovered analog outlier processes and how traditional continuation methods can be extended to the explicit outlier-process formulation. These results indicate that the outlier-process approach provides a general framework which subsumes the traditional line-process approaches as well as a wide class of robust estimation problems. Examples in surface reconstruction, image segmentation, and optical flow are presented to illustrate the use of outlier processes and to show how the relationship between outlier processes and robust statistics can be exploited. An appendix provides a catalog of common robust error norms and their equivalent outlier-process formulations.

pdf pdf from publisher DOI [BibTex]

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Mixture Models for Image Representation

Jepson, A., Black, M.

PRECARN ARK Project Technical Report ARK96-PUB-54, March 1996 (techreport)

Abstract
We consider the estimation of local greylevel image structure in terms of a layered representation. This type of representation has recently been successfully used to segment various objects from clutter using either optical ow or stereo disparity information. We argue that the same type of representation is useful for greylevel data in that it allows for the estimation of properties for each of several different components without prior segmentation. Our emphasis in this paper is on the process used to extract such a layered representation from a given image In particular we consider a variant of the EM algorithm for the estimation of the layered model and consider a novel technique for choosing the number of layers to use. We briefly consider the use of a simple version of this approach for image segmentation and suggest two potential applications to the ARK project

pdf [BibTex]

Jepson, A., Black, M. Mixture Models for Image Representation PRECARN ARK Project Technical Report ARK96-PUB-54, March 1996 (techreport)

pdf [BibTex]

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The robust estimation of multiple motions: Parametric and piecewise-smooth flow fields

Black, M. J., Anandan, P.

Computer Vision and Image Understanding, 63(1):75-104, January 1996 (article)

Abstract
Most approaches for estimating optical flow assume that, within a finite image region, only a single motion is present. This single motion assumption is violated in common situations involving transparency, depth discontinuities, independently moving objects, shadows, and specular reflections. To robustly estimate optical flow, the single motion assumption must be relaxed. This paper presents a framework based on robust estimation that addresses violations of the brightness constancy and spatial smoothness assumptions caused by multiple motions. We show how the robust estimation framework can be applied to standard formulations of the optical flow problem thus reducing their sensitivity to violations of their underlying assumptions. The approach has been applied to three standard techniques for recovering optical flow: area-based regression, correlation, and regularization with motion discontinuities. This paper focuses on the recovery of multiple parametric motion models within a region, as well as the recovery of piecewise-smooth flow fields, and provides examples with natural and synthetic image sequences.

pdf pdf from publisher [BibTex]

Black, M. J., Anandan, P. The robust estimation of multiple motions: Parametric and piecewise-smooth flow fields Computer Vision and Image Understanding, 63(1):75-104, January 1996 (article)

pdf pdf from publisher [BibTex]

1993

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Mixture models for optical flow computation

Jepson, A., Black, M.

In Partitioning Data Sets, DIMACS Workshop, pages: 271-286, (Editors: Ingemar Cox, Pierre Hansen, and Bela Julesz), AMS Pub, Providence, RI., April 1993 (incollection)

pdf [BibTex]

1993

Jepson, A., Black, M. Mixture models for optical flow computation In Partitioning Data Sets, DIMACS Workshop, pages: 271-286, (Editors: Ingemar Cox, Pierre Hansen, and Bela Julesz), AMS Pub, Providence, RI., April 1993 (incollection)

pdf [BibTex]