Publications | Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems

ics Buisson-Fenet, M. Actively Learning Dynamical Systems with Gaussian Processes Mines ParisTech, PSL Research University, 2019 (mastersthesis)

Official Version [BibTex]

2017

Human Shape Estimation using Statistical Body Models

Loper, M. M.

University of Tübingen, May 2017 (thesis)

Abstract

Human body estimation methods transform real-world observations into predictions about human body state. These estimation methods benefit a variety of health, entertainment, clothing, and ergonomics applications. State may include pose, overall body shape, and appearance. Body state estimation is underconstrained by observations; ambiguity presents itself both in the form of missing data within observations, and also in the form of unknown correspondences between observations. We address this challenge with the use of a statistical body model: a data-driven virtual human. This helps resolve ambiguity in two ways. First, it fills in missing data, meaning that incomplete observations still result in complete shape estimates. Second, the model provides a statistically-motivated penalty for unlikely states, which enables more plausible body shape estimates. Body state inference requires more than a body model; we therefore build obser- vation models whose output is compared with real observations. In this thesis, body state is estimated from three types of observations: 3D motion capture markers, depth and color images, and high-resolution 3D scans. In each case, a forward process is proposed which simulates observations. By comparing observations to the results of the forward process, state can be adjusted to minimize the difference between simulated and observed data. We use gradient-based methods because they are critical to the precise estimation of state with a large number of parameters. The contributions of this work include three parts. First, we propose a method for the estimation of body shape, nonrigid deformation, and pose from 3D markers. Second, we present a concise approach to differentiating through the rendering process, with application to body shape estimation. And finally, we present a statistical body model trained from human body scans, with state-of-the-art fidelity, good runtime performance, and compatibility with existing animation packages.

2017

ps Loper, M. M. Human Shape Estimation using Statistical Body Models University of Tübingen, May 2017 (thesis)

Official Version [BibTex]

Nonparametric Disturbance Correction and Nonlinear Dual Control

Klenske, E. D.

(24098), ETH Zurich, 2017 (phdthesis)

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DOI [BibTex]

ei pn sf Klenske, E. D. Nonparametric Disturbance Correction and Nonlinear Dual Control (24098), ETH Zurich, 2017 (phdthesis)

DOI [BibTex]

Method of molding simple or complex micro and/or nanopatterned features on both planar or non-planar molded objects and surfaces and the molded objects produced using same

Sitti, M., Glass, P. S., Aksak, B.

2017, US Patent 9,566,722 (patent)

pi Sitti, M., Glass, P. S., Aksak, B. Method of molding simple or complex micro and/or nanopatterned features on both planar or non-planar molded objects and surfaces and the molded objects produced using same 2017, US Patent 9,566,722 (patent)

Learning Inference Models for Computer Vision

Jampani, V.

MPI for Intelligent Systems and University of Tübingen, 2017 (phdthesis)

Abstract

Computer vision can be understood as the ability to perform 'inference' on image data. Breakthroughs in computer vision technology are often marked by advances in inference techniques, as even the model design is often dictated by the complexity of inference in them. This thesis proposes learning based inference schemes and demonstrates applications in computer vision. We propose techniques for inference in both generative and discriminative computer vision models. Despite their intuitive appeal, the use of generative models in vision is hampered by the difficulty of posterior inference, which is often too complex or too slow to be practical. We propose techniques for improving inference in two widely used techniques: Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling and message-passing inference. Our inference strategy is to learn separate discriminative models that assist Bayesian inference in a generative model. Experiments on a range of generative vision models show that the proposed techniques accelerate the inference process and/or converge to better solutions. A main complication in the design of discriminative models is the inclusion of prior knowledge in a principled way. For better inference in discriminative models, we propose techniques that modify the original model itself, as inference is simple evaluation of the model. We concentrate on convolutional neural network (CNN) models and propose a generalization of standard spatial convolutions, which are the basic building blocks of CNN architectures, to bilateral convolutions. First, we generalize the existing use of bilateral filters and then propose new neural network architectures with learnable bilateral filters, which we call `Bilateral Neural Networks'. We show how the bilateral filtering modules can be used for modifying existing CNN architectures for better image segmentation and propose a neural network approach for temporal information propagation in videos. Experiments demonstrate the potential of the proposed bilateral networks on a wide range of vision tasks and datasets. In summary, we propose learning based techniques for better inference in several computer vision models ranging from inverse graphics to freely parameterized neural networks. In generative vision models, our inference techniques alleviate some of the crucial hurdles in Bayesian posterior inference, paving new ways for the use of model based machine learning in vision. In discriminative CNN models, the proposed filter generalizations aid in the design of new neural network architectures that can handle sparse high-dimensional data as well as provide a way for incorporating prior knowledge into CNNs.

pdf [BibTex]

ps Jampani, V. Learning Inference Models for Computer Vision MPI for Intelligent Systems and University of Tübingen, 2017 (phdthesis)

pdf [BibTex]

Development and Evaluation of a Portable BCI System for Remote Data Acquisition

Emde, T.

Graduate School of Neural Information Processing, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany, 2017 (mastersthesis)

ei Emde, T. Development and Evaluation of a Portable BCI System for Remote Data Acquisition Graduate School of Neural Information Processing, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany, 2017 (mastersthesis)

Brain-Computer Interfaces for patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Fomina, T.

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany, 2017 (phdthesis)

ei Fomina, T. Brain-Computer Interfaces for patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany, 2017 (phdthesis)

Methods, apparatuses, and systems for micromanipulation with adhesive fibrillar structures

Sitti, M., Mengüç, Y.

US Patent 9,731,422, 2017 (patent)

Abstract

The present invention are methods for fabrication of micro- and/or nano-scale adhesive fibers and their use for movement and manipulation of objects. Further disclosed is a method of manipulating a part by providing a manipulation device with a plurality of fibers, where each fiber has a tip with a flat surface that is parallel to a backing layer, contacting the flat surfaces on an object, moving the object to a new location, then disengaging the tips from the object.

pi Sitti, M., Mengüç, Y. Methods, apparatuses, and systems for micromanipulation with adhesive fibrillar structures US Patent 9,731,422, 2017 (patent)

Causal models for decision making via integrative inference

Geiger, P.

University of Stuttgart, Germany, 2017 (phdthesis)

ei Geiger, P. Causal models for decision making via integrative inference University of Stuttgart, Germany, 2017 (phdthesis)

Thesis link (url) Project Page [BibTex]

Capturing Hand-Object Interaction and Reconstruction of Manipulated Objects

Tzionas, D.

University of Bonn, 2017 (phdthesis)

Abstract

Hand motion capture with an RGB-D sensor gained recently a lot of research attention, however, even most recent approaches focus on the case of a single isolated hand. We focus instead on hands that interact with other hands or with a rigid or articulated object. Our framework successfully captures motion in such scenarios by combining a generative model with discriminatively trained salient points, collision detection and physics simulation to achieve a low tracking error with physically plausible poses. All components are unified in a single objective function that can be optimized with standard optimization techniques. We initially assume a-priori knowledge of the object's shape and skeleton. In case of unknown object shape there are existing 3d reconstruction methods that capitalize on distinctive geometric or texture features. These methods though fail for textureless and highly symmetric objects like household articles, mechanical parts or toys. We show that extracting 3d hand motion for in-hand scanning effectively facilitates the reconstruction of such objects and we fuse the rich additional information of hands into a 3d reconstruction pipeline. Finally, although shape reconstruction is enough for rigid objects, there is a lack of tools that build rigged models of articulated objects that deform realistically using RGB-D data. We propose a method that creates a fully rigged model consisting of a watertight mesh, embedded skeleton and skinning weights by employing a combination of deformable mesh tracking, motion segmentation based on spectral clustering and skeletonization based on mean curvature flow.

ps Tzionas, D. Capturing Hand-Object Interaction and Reconstruction of Manipulated Objects University of Bonn, 2017 (phdthesis)

Thesis link (url) Project Page [BibTex]

Evaluation of the passive dynamics of compliant legs with inertia

Györfi, B.

University of Applied Science Pforzheim, Germany, 2017 (mastersthesis)

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dlg Györfi, B. Evaluation of the passive dynamics of compliant legs with inertia University of Applied Science Pforzheim, Germany, 2017 (mastersthesis)

Learning Optimal Configurations for Modeling Frowning by Transcranial Electrical Stimulation

Sücker, K.

Graduate School of Neural Information Processing, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany, 2017 (mastersthesis)

ei Sücker, K. Learning Optimal Configurations for Modeling Frowning by Transcranial Electrical Stimulation Graduate School of Neural Information Processing, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany, 2017 (mastersthesis)

Understanding FORC using synthetic micro-structured systems with variable coupling- and coercivefield distributions

Groß, Felix

Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2017 (mastersthesis)

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mms Groß, Felix Understanding FORC using synthetic micro-structured systems with variable coupling- and coercivefield distributions Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2017 (mastersthesis)

Using FORC to understand the microstructure-micromagnetism relationship in supermagnets

Ilse, S. E.

Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2017 (mastersthesis)

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mms Ilse, S. E. Using FORC to understand the microstructure-micromagnetism relationship in supermagnets Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2017 (mastersthesis)

Adsorption von Wasserstoffmolekülen in nanoporösen Gerüststrukturen

Kotzur, Nadine

Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2017 (mastersthesis)

mms

mms Kotzur, Nadine Adsorption von Wasserstoffmolekülen in nanoporösen Gerüststrukturen Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2017 (mastersthesis)

Tailored magnetic properties of exchange-spring and ultra hard nanomagnets

Son, K.

Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2017 (phdthesis)

mms

mms Son, K. Tailored magnetic properties of exchange-spring and ultra hard nanomagnets Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2017 (phdthesis)

Voltage induced near interface changes of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy: A study by X-ray resonant techniques in combination with conventional magnetometry

Boltje, D.

Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2017 (mastersthesis)

mms

mms Boltje, D. Voltage induced near interface changes of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy: A study by X-ray resonant techniques in combination with conventional magnetometry Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, 2017 (mastersthesis)

2007

Some Theoretical Aspects of Human Categorization Behavior: Similarity and Generalization

Jäkel, F.

Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, November 2007, passed with "ausgezeichnet", summa cum laude, published online (phdthesis)

2007

ei Jäkel, F. Some Theoretical Aspects of Human Categorization Behavior: Similarity and Generalization Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, November 2007, passed with "ausgezeichnet", summa cum laude, published online (phdthesis)

Statistical Learning Theory Approaches to Clustering

Jegelka, S.

Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, November 2007 (diplomathesis)

ei Jegelka, S. Statistical Learning Theory Approaches to Clustering Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, November 2007 (diplomathesis)

Error Correcting Codes for the P300 Visual Speller

Biessmann, F.

Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, July 2007 (diplomathesis)

Abstract

The aim of brain-computer interface (BCI) research is to establish a communication system based on intentional modulation of brain activity. This is accomplished by classifying patterns of brain ac- tivity, volitionally induced by the user. The BCI presented in this study is based on a classical paradigm as proposed by (Farwell and Donchin, 1988), the P300 visual speller. Recording electroencephalo- grams (EEG) from the scalp while presenting letters successively to the user, the speller can infer from the brain signal which letter the user was focussing on. Since EEG recordings are noisy, usually many repetitions are needed to detect the correct letter. The focus of this study was to improve the accuracy of the visual speller applying some basic principles from information theory: Stimulus sequences of the speller have been modi&amp;amp;#64257;ed into error-correcting codes. Additionally a language model was incorporated into the probabilistic letter de- coder. Classi&amp;amp;#64257;cation of single EEG epochs was less accurate using error correcting codes. However, the novel code could compensate for that such that overall, letter accuracies were as high as or even higher than for classical stimulus codes. In particular at high noise levels, error-correcting decoding achieved higher letter accuracies.

ei Biessmann, F. Error Correcting Codes for the P300 Visual Speller Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, July 2007 (diplomathesis)

Nonparametric Bayesian Discrete Latent Variable Models for Unsupervised Learning

Görür, D.

Biologische Kybernetik, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany, April 2007, published online (phdthesis)

PDF PDF [BibTex]

ei Görür, D. Nonparametric Bayesian Discrete Latent Variable Models for Unsupervised Learning Biologische Kybernetik, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany, April 2007, published online (phdthesis)

PDF PDF [BibTex]

Applications of Kernel Machines to Structured Data

Eichhorn, J.

Biologische Kybernetik, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany, March 2007, passed with "sehr gut", published online (phdthesis)

ei Eichhorn, J. Applications of Kernel Machines to Structured Data Biologische Kybernetik, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany, March 2007, passed with "sehr gut", published online (phdthesis)

A priori Knowledge from Non-Examples

Sinz, FH.

Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, March 2007 (diplomathesis)

PDF Web [BibTex]

ei Sinz, FH. A priori Knowledge from Non-Examples Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, March 2007 (diplomathesis)

PDF Web [BibTex]

Machine Learning for Mass Production and Industrial Engineering

Pfingsten, T.

Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, February 2007 (phdthesis)

ei Pfingsten, T. Machine Learning for Mass Production and Industrial Engineering Biologische Kybernetik, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, February 2007 (phdthesis)