Study on Visual Impact Assessment of Highway Landscape

In view of features of highway visual impact assessment,the subject and object of highway visual impact assessment have been analyzed.The subject is "people" that is observers and the object is landscape visual resources,landscape visual features and landscape visual quality.On this basis,the paper has proposed the content and model for highway visual impact assessment,further introduced methods for the assessment of highway visual integration and the prediction of visual quality change,and finally put forward measures alleviating highway visual impact from the perspective of preventing,reducing,restoring and compensating.It aims to reduce the influence on landscape visual environment to the minimum level during highway construction.

NEW VISUAL PERCEPTUAL POOLING STRATEGY FOR IMAGE QUALITY ASSESSMENT

Most of Image Quality Assessment (IQA) metrics consist of two processes. In the first process, quality map of image is measured locally. In the second process, the last quality score is converted from the quality map by using the pooling strategy. The first process had been made effective and significant progresses, while the second process was always done in simple ways. In the second process of the pooling strategy, the optimal perceptual pooling weights should be determined and computed according to Human Visual System (HVS). Thus, a reliable spatial pooling mathematical model based on HVS is an important issue worthy of study. In this paper, a new Visual Perceptual Pooling Strategy (VPPS) for IQA is presented based on contrast sensitivity and luminance sensitivity of HVS. Experimental results with the LIVE database show that the visual perceptual weights, obtained by the proposed pooling strategy, can effectively and significantly improve the performances of the IQA metrics with Mean Structural SIMilarity (MSSIM) or Phase Quantization Code (PQC). It is confirmed that the proposed VPPS demonstrates promising results for improving the performances of existing IQA metrics.

Visual Impact Assessment: Where Have We Come from and Where Are We Going?

This paper is a historical overview of the development of visual impact assessment (VIA) methodology as implemented by US Federal agencies from the 1960s until the current time. VIA methods are to be used as part of environmental impact assessment for projects which could have significant impact on landscape aesthetics. Also included are methodological challenges with current large-scale renewable energy development in the US and Europe.

Recent Advances and Challenges of Visual Signal Quality Assessment

While quality assessment is essential for testing, optimizing, benchmarking, monitoring, and inspecting related systems and services, it also plays an essential role in the design of virtually all visual signal processing and communication algorithms, as well as various related decision-making processes. In this paper, we first provide an overview of recently derived quality assessment approaches for traditional visual signals (i.e., 2D images/videos), with highlights for new trends (such as machine learning approaches). On the other hand, with the ongoing development of devices and multimedia services, newly emerged visual signals (e.g., mobile/3D videos) are becoming more and more popular. This work focuses on recent progresses of quality metrics, which have been reviewed for the newly emerged forms of visual signals, which include scalable and mobile videos, High Dynamic Range (HDR) images, image segmentation results, 3D images/videos, and retargeted images.

No-Reference Image Quality Assessment Method Based on Visual Parameters

Recent studies on no-reference image quality assessment (NR-IQA) methods usually learn to evaluate the image quality by regressing from human subjective scores of the training samples. This study presented an NR-IQA method based on the basic image visual parameters without using human scored image databases in learning. We demonstrated that these features comprised the most basic characteristics for constructing an image and influencing the visual quality of an image. In this paper, the definitions, computational method, and relationships among these visual metrics were described. We subsequently proposed a no-reference assessment function, which was referred to as a visual parameter measurement index (VPMI), based on the integration of these visual metrics to assess image quality. It is established that the maximum of VPMI corresponds to the best quality of the color image. We verified this method using the popular assessment database—image quality assessment database (LIVE), and the results indicated that the proposed method matched better with the subjective assessment of human vision. Compared with other image quality assessment models, it is highly competitive. VPMI has low computational complexity, which makes it promising to implement in real-time image assessment systems.

Visualization and Damage Assessment for Flooded Area

A practical method for visualizing flood area and evaluating damage is presented, which consists of two technical approaches: self\|programming and adapting commercial GIS platforms. The low\|cost and easy\|to\|use GIS\|Based model developed by self\|programming can meet current requirements of most local authorities, especially in developing countries. In this model, two cases, non\|source flood and source flood, are distinguished and the Seed\|spread algorithm suitable for source\|flood is discussed; The flood damage is assessed by overlaying the flood area range with thematic maps and other related social and economic data. and all thematic maps are converted to raster format before overlay analysis. Two measures are taken to improve the operation efficiency of speed seed\|spread algorithm. The accuracy of the model mainly depends on the resolution and precision of the DEM data, and the accuracy of registering all raster layers and the quality of attribute data.

AB033.The impact of visual impairment on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment

Background:Cognitive assessments,such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA),use components that assume intact sensory abilities,however,adults show concomitant decreases in visual acuity with increasing age.Scores on cognitive assessments are typically lower for individuals with visual impairments compared to individuals with normal/corrected to normal vision.But it is not clear if lowers scores on cognitive assessments are due to the assessments relying on visual stimuli,or if individuals with visual impairments are actually more likely to have cognitive impairments.Therefore we simulated visual impairments,i.e.,reduced visual acuity and contrast sensitivity,in young healthy adults to determine how this impacts their scores on a measure of cognitive ability,i.e.,the MoCA.Methods:Participants(n=19)completed one of the three version of the MoCA under three conditions(20/20,simulated 20/80,simulated 20/200).The MoCA was administered following the clinical protocols.Only participants that scored>26(i.e.,normal cognitive function)at 20/20 were included in the analysis.For comparison,we included MoCA data from a sample of older adults with normal vision(n=19,Mage=74,Acuity M=0.04 logMAR,SD=0.16)or visual impairment(n=19,Mage=79,Acuity M=0.35 logMAR,SD=0.3).Results:Acuity of participants at 20/20(M=0.06 LogMAR,SD=0.1),simulated 20/80(M=0.63,SD=0.18)and simulated 20/200(M=0.88,SD=0.19)showed that the participants experienced simulated acuity loss with the goggles.For the MoCA scores,we found a main effect of acuity(F=16.22,P<0.001,η2=0.375,BF10=5,618).Planned post hoc comparisons showed a significant difference between scores with a 20/20 acuity(M=27.26,SD=0.93)and 20/80(M=24.74,SD=1.66,t=5.62,ptukey<0.001,d=1.88),and between 20/20 and 20/200(M=25.63,SD=1.46,t=3.63,ptukey=0.002,Cohen’s d=1.33).However,no difference was observed between 20/80 and 20/200(t=−1.99,ptukey=0.125,d=0.572).The MoCA scores in older adults with normal vision(M=27.32,SD=2.41)and with visual impairment(M=26.68,SD=2.52),did not differ significantly(t36=−0.787,P=0.436,d=0.26,BF10=0.4).Conclusions:Our findings show that simulated reductions in visual acuity and contrast sensitivity lead to lower scores on measures of cognitive ability,specifically the MoCA.However,it appears that older adults with actual visual impairments may have developed compensatory strategies to adapt to this loss in visual acuity as there were no significant differences in scores of older adults with and without visual impairments.Therefore,we would recommend that when assessing an individual with visual impairments to conduct the cognitive test by re-scoring it without the visual components,e.g.,the MoCA Blind,to magnify the visual components,or to substitue the visual component when possible using auditory alternatives,e.g.,the oral trail making task.

Qualitative visual trichotomous assessment improves the value of fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in predicting the prognosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Introduction:Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose(18F-FDG)positron emission tomography/computed tomography(PET/CT)is a powerful tool for monitoring the response of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL)to therapy,but the criteria to interpret PET/CT results remain under debate.We investigated the value of post-treatment PET/CT in predicting the prognosis of DLBCL patients when interpreted according to qualitative visual trichotomous assessment(QVTA)criteria compared with the Deauvil e criteria.Methods:In this retrospective study,final PET/CT scans of DLBCL patients treated with rituximab-based regimens between October 2005 and November 2010 were interpreted using the Deauvil e and QVTA criteria.Survival curves were estimated using Kaplan-Meier analysis and compared using the log-rank test.Results:A total of 253 patients were enrol ed.The interpretation according to the Deauvil e criteria revealed that 181patients had negative PET/CT scan results and 72 had positive results.The 3 year overal survival(OS)rate was significantly higher in patients with negative scan results than in those with positive results(91.6%vs.57.5%,P<0.001).The72 patients with positive scan results according to the Deauville criteria were divided into two groups by the interpretation according to the QVTA criteria:29 had indeterminate results,and 43 had positive results.The 3 year OS rate was significantly higher in patients with indeterminate scan results than in those with positive results(91.2%vs.33.5%,P<0.001)but was similar between patients with negative and indeterminate scan results(91.6%vs.91.2%,P=0.921).Conclusions:Compared with the Deauvil e criteria,using the QVTA criteria for interpreting post-treatment PET/CT scans of DLBCL patients is likely to reduce the number of false positive results.The QVTA criteria are feasible for therapeutic outcome evaluation and can be used to guide risk-adapted therapy.

AB095. Development of an assessment system of driver visual behaviours on a car simulator

Background:(I)To describe the development and components of the automobile simulator driving behavior evaluation system developed by CRIR-Institut Nazareth et Louis-Braille;(II)to present the preliminary results of the content evaluation of the driving behavior evaluation grid.Methods:The evaluation system consists of five components:(I)the VS500M Car Simulator(Virage Simulation);(II)four VS500M driving scenarios,modified to minimize the occurrence of simulator sickness and expose subjects to commonly encountered driving situations on highways and city boulevards;(III)the Tobii Pro Glasses 2 eye tracking device;(IV)a car simulator driving behavior observation grid(DBOG);(V)a software application used during the behaviour evaluation phase,where synchronized video tracking,certain data from the simulator(e.g.,speed)and the DBOG grid are presented.Initially,the expected safe driving behaviors were identified,including 235 of a visual nature,supported by literature data and consultation of the project steering committee and an expert in driving assessment.Driving behaviors were assessed in 22 subjects without visual impairment(mean age 55±20 years).Subsequently,the items were revised to determine their relevance based on their importance in terms of road safety or on the frequency with which behaviors were observed among participants.For analysis purpose,the items of the DBOG were grouped according to their content,by type of expected driving behavior(e.g.,following a stop,look to the left and right before crossing the intersection)or element to be detected(e.g.,pedestrians).Results:Some visual behaviors are difficult to observe with the eye tracker device because they are more dependent on peripheral than central vision.Others are rarely observed,possibly because they are little or not realized in daily life or the representation of reality on the simulator does not stimulate their adoption.On the other hand,the visual detection behaviors expected in a situation where safety can be compromised are mostly carried out(e.g.,detection of oncoming vehicles,side mirror verification when changing lanes).Conclusions:This first phase of the study has made possible to better target the items to be kept in the car simulator driving behavior observation grid,and those that will have to be removed as they are too difficult to observe or too rarely adopted by the participants.Content validity and inter-rater reliability will be assessed from the simplified grid.

SAR Image Quality Assessment System Based on Human Visual Perception for Aircraft Electromagnetic Countermeasures

In electronic confrontation, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is vulnerable to different types of electronic jamming. The research on SAR jamming image quality assessment can provide the prerequisite for SAR jamming and anti-jamming technology, which is an urgent problem that researchers need to solve. Traditional SAR image quality assessment metrics analyze statistical error between the reference image and the jamming image only in the pixel domain; therefore, they cannot reflect the visual perceptual property of SAR jamming images effectively. In this demo, we develop a SAR image quality assessment system based on human visual perception for the application of aircraft electromagnetic countermeasures simulation platform.The internet of things and cloud computing techniques of big data are applied to our system. In the demonstration, we will present the assessment result interface of the SAR image quality assessment system.

A Novel Objective Quality Assessment Method for Video Conferencing Coding

Most recently, due to the demand of immersive communication, region-of-interest-based(ROI) high efficiency video coding(HEVC) approaches in conferencing scenarios have become increasingly important. However, there exists no objective metric, specially developed for efficiently evaluating the perceived visual quality of video conferencing coding. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel objective quality assessment method, namely Gaussian mixture model based peak signal-tonoise ratio(GMM-PSNR), for the perceptual video conferencing coding. First, eye tracking experiments, together with a real-time technique of face and facial feature extraction, are introduced. In the experiments, importance of background, face, and facial feature regions is identified, and it is then quantified based on eye fixation points over test videos. Next, assuming that the distribution of the eye fixation points obeys Gaussian mixture model, we utilize expectation-maximization(EM) algorithm to generate an importance weight map for each frame of video conferencing coding, in light of a new term eye fixation points/pixel(efp/p). According to the generated weight map, GMM-PSNR is developed for quality assessment by assigning different weights to the distortion of each pixel in the video frame. Finally, we utilize some experiments to investigate the correlation of the proposed GMM-PSNR and other conventional objective metrics with subjective quality metrics. The experimental results show the effectiveness of GMM-PSNR.

A NEW IMAGE QUALITY ASSESSMENT BASED ON HVS

This letter proposes a new kind of image quality philosophy—Modulate Quality based on Fixation Points (MQFP) based on Human Visual System (HVS) model. Dissimilar to the former HVS-based quality assessment, the new measure emphasizes particularly on modeling the jumping phenomenon of human sight instead of modeling the visual perception of human. In other words, to model the HVS using fixation points and stay-frequency instead of Contrast Sensitive Function (CSF) etc. which models the visual perception of HVS. The experiment on various frequency-distortion images indicates that the new measure is correlated with the subjective judgment more than the former HVS-based measure and is a robust measure.

Smoke Hazard Assessment Model Based on Fire Dynamics Simulator and FED Model

Smoke is the main cause of fire death. In order to minimize the potential danger of smoke hazard, a rational VR based fire training simulator should fully consider all aspects of smoke hazard. In the simulator, the visualization of data based on FDS (Fire Dynamics Simulator) and FED fire dynamic data and volume rendering is further optimized, which can be effectively and quickly applied to virtual fire protection. In addition, a comprehensive smoke hazard assessment model based on FED and FED is established to assess the IHD value of different paths, which represents the safety of different paths, and can be used for evacuation or rescue in virtual training. Taking the case of campus fire drill as an experiment, the research shows the accuracy and effectiveness of smoke assessment based on FDS and FED model. The road force with the highest safety can be selected through the comprehensive model. So the assessment model is proved to be valuable.

Perceptual Quality Assessment of Omnidirectional Images:Subjective Experiment and Objective Model Evaluation

Virtual reality(VR) environment can provide immersive experience to viewers.Under the VR environment, providing a good quality of experience is extremely important.Therefore, in this paper, we present an image quality assessment(IQA) study on omnidirectional images. We first build an omnidirectional IQA(OIQA) database, including 16 source images with their corresponding 320 distorted images. We add four commonly encountered distortions. These distortions are JPEG compression, JPEG2000 compression, Gaussian blur, and Gaussian noise. Then we conduct a subjective quality evaluation study in the VR environment based on the OIQA database. Considering that visual attention is more important in VR environment, head and eye movement data are also tracked and collected during the quality rating experiments. The 16 raw and their corresponding distorted images,subjective quality assessment scores, and the head-orientation data and eye-gaze data together constitute the OIQA database. Based on the OIQA database, we test some state-of-the-art full-reference IQA(FR-IQA) measures on equirectangular format or cubic formatomnidirectional images. The results show that applying FR-IQA metrics on cubic format omnidirectional images could improve their performance. The performance of some FR-IQA metrics combining the saliency weight of three different types are also tested based on our database. Some new phenomena different from traditional IQA are observed.

Assessment of Seismic Damage in Nativity Church in Bethlehem Using Pushover Analysis

This study focuses on advanced finite element(FE)analyses on The Church of Nativity located in Bethlehem(Palestine),one of the most historic structures in the world.To ensure the model quality,a 3D FE model was created using two types of typical commercial software,DIANA FEA and SAP2000.From analyses,one of the expected behaviors for this kind of masonry structure“low modal period”was found.The seismic behavior of the church was studied using pushover analyses,which were conducted using DIANA FEA.The first unidirectional mass proportional load pattern was created in both directions,X-direction as a longitudinal direction and Y-direction as the transversal direction.An incremental iterative procedure was used with monotonically increasing horizontal loads,using constant gravity loads.The results showed that the transversal direction is the most vulnerable and the damage concentrates at the main lateral(longitudinal)walls,mainly at the south and north alignment walls,and also at the vaults and at the connections of the vaults to the apse.Crack width was at the upper limit in the in-plane direction(X-direction).While,in Y-direction,it exceeded the limits of IBC code in width and length with a maximum width of 13.7 mm.A more accurate nonlinear dynamic analysis is recommended in the near future,which takes into account the material nonlinearity for more reasonable seismic behavior simulation.

Blind Image Quality Assessment Based on Wavelet Power Spectrum in Perceptual Domain

Blind image quality assessment(BIQA) can assess the perceptual quality of a distorted image without a prior knowledge of its reference image or distortion type. In this paper, a novel BIQA model is developed in wavelet domain. Considering the multi-resolution and band-passing characteristics of discrete wavelet transform(DWT), an improvement over the power spectrum is put forward, i.e., dubbed wavelet power spectrum(WPS)estimation. Then, the concept of directional WPS is applied to simplify the calculation. Moreover, a rotationally symmetric modulation transfer function(MTF) of human visual system(HVS) is integrated as a filter, which makes the metric to be consistent with the human vision perception and more discriminative. Experiments are conducted on the LIVE databases and three other databases, and the results show that the proposed metric is highly correlated with subjective evaluations and it competes well with other state-of-the-art metrics in terms of effectiveness and robustness.

Layout Design-Based Research on Optimization and Assessment Method for Shipbuilding Workshop

The research study proposes to examine a three-dimensional visualization program, emphasizing on improving genetic algorithms through the optimization of a layout design-based standard and discrete shipbuilding workshop. By utilizing a steel processing workshop as an example, the principle of minimum logistic costs will be implemented to obtain an ideological equipment layout, and a mathematical model. The objectiveness is to minimize the total necessary distance traveled between machines. An improved control operator is implemented to improve the iterative efficiency of the genetic algorithm, and yield relevant parameters. The Computer Aided Tri-Dimensional Interface Application （CATIA） software is applied to establish the manufacturing resource base and parametric model of the steel processing workshop. Based on the results of optimized planar logistics, a visual parametric model of the steel processing workshop is constructed, and qualitative and quantitative adjustments then are applied to the model. The method for evaluating the results of the layout is subsequently established through the utilization of AHP. In order to provide a mode of reference to the optimization and layout of the digitalized production workshop, the optimized discrete production workshop will possess a certain level of practical significance.

A Conceptual Framework for Threat Assessment Based on Organization’s Information Security Policy

The security breaches of sensitive information have remained difficult to solve due to increased malware programs and unauthorized access to data stored in critical assets. As risk appetite differ from one organization to another, it prompts the threat analysis tools be integrated with organization’s information security policy so as to ensure security controls at local settings. However, it has been noted that the current tools for threat assessment processes have not encompassed information security policy for effective security management (i.e.?confidentiality, integrity and availability) based on organization’s risk appetite and culture. The information security policy serves as a tool to provide guidance on how to manage and secure all business operations including critical assets, infrastructure and people in the organization. This guidance (e.g. usage and controls) facilitates the provisions for threat assessment and compliance based on local context. The lack of effective threat assessment frameworks at local context have promoted the exposure of critical assets such as database servers, mails servers, web servers and user smart-devices at the hand of attackers and thus increase risks and probability to compromise the assets. In this paper we have proposed a conceptual framework for security threat assessment based on organization’s information security policy. Furthermore, the study proposed the policy automation canvas for provision of a methodology to alert the security managers what possible threats found in their organizations for quick security mitigation without depending on security expertise.

A Fine-grained Building Height Control Method for Heritage Areas from the Perspective of Visual Integrity

This study proposes a refined methodology for controlling building heights in heritage areas.In order to protect the visual integrity of the heritage area,buildings should not obstruct the view from important site points and viewpoints to the periphery.By calculating the building height thresholds that buildings should not obscure the view from each viewpoint,the results of which are weighted and superimposed,and the values are extracted to each building unit as a refined building height control guideline.This study takes the Zhoukoudian area as a case study,applies the refined building height control criterion to the Zhoukoudian Site,and relies on this refined criterion to assess the visual integrity of the Zhoukoudian area,so as to realize the scientific planning and monitoring of the Zhoukoudian area.The refined building height control method can be applied to building height planning and visual landscape protection in large heritage areas.