Visual Computing Best Paper Earned


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Karthik Sankaranarayanan and Professor Jim Davis received a Best Paper Award at the 6th International Symposium on Visual Computing (ISVC) 2010, for their paper, "Attention-based Target Localization using Multiple Instance Learning." It explores the use of Multiple Instance Learning (MIL) to perform target localization from image sequences. The basis of this approach uses a softmax logistic regression MIL algorithm that automatically learns the model of a target that persists across input frames. This approach can allow commercial grade surveillance cameras to automatically localize targets in various scenes. The award was sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs (MERL).

Karthik Sankaranarayanan is a 5th year PhD candidate in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Ohio State University. He is a member of the Computer Vision Lab working with Prof. James W. Davis. His current research examines the application of multiple instance learning algorithms for computer vision tasks such as object localization and tracking. His work has been funded by the Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) and previously by National Science Foundation (NSF). He received his Bachelors degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Pune, India in 2004.

James W. Davis, Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, is developing advanced video surveillance systems that use computers equipped with video cameras to not only detect the presence of people and track them, but also to identify their activities. The research has broad implications for Homeland Security as well as search and rescue, border patrol, law enforcement and many other types of military applications. The systems combine video cameras with machine learning methods, enabling the computer to perform the kind of visual recognition that seems effortless for humans. Davis' work in investigating computer vision methods was recognized by the National Science Foundation with the prestigious NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program award. Support for this research (past and present) has been provided by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Air Force, Los Alamos National Lab, U.S. Army Night Vision Laboratory, Intel, and Ohio Board of Regents.