Thesis proposals

Please contact Arjan den Dekker if you are interested.

BSc Thesis Proposals ("Bachelor Eind Projecten TN")

• Data-based modeling of industrial plants via short experiments: the uncertainty bounding issue
  
  For more information about this project, please contact Arjan den Dekker.
  

MSc Thesis Proposals

• Identification of the hemodynamic response function from functional magnetic resonance imaging data
  A project in collaboration with the Academic Medical Center (AMC) in Amsterdam.
  
  Recommended elective course: System Identification (sc410)
  
  More information can be found by following this link.

• Simultaneous Simulink-based Simulation of the Spatial-Temporal Dynamics of a TEM Microscope
  
  Scanning transmission electron microscopes (STEMs) are the tools of choice for nanotechnology research, since they are capable of producing images with magnifications in excess of 1 million and verifiable measurements in the range of a few Angstroms. There is currently a strong industrial push for automating STEMs. (cf. http://www.esi.nl/frames.html?/projects/condor/home.asp)
  
  Such automation requires to control a number of parameters, such as defocus range, optical aberration strength, or sample positioning, which can only be measured from images. The image formation process in a STEM microscope can be considered a linear system over space, whose transfer function varies over time. Moreover, under very simplified conditions, this behavior can be modeled by a partial differential equation (PDE).
  
  Thus, the goal of this master thesis project is to develop a Simulink-based simulation environment for the image formation process of a TEM microscope using as a starting point the current PDE simulation tools. This simulator will then be used to test different control strategies for the microscope.
  
  For more information, please consult dr. Arturo Tejada Ruiz (DCSC).
  
  This MSc thesis project is embedded in CONDOR. The Condor project is a joint endeavor of a consortium of industrial and academic partners with the Embedded Systems Institute having the Project Management responsibility. The carrying industrial partner is FEI Company. The presentations of Dr. Arturo Tejada in Noorden (sept 22, 2009) and Delft (lunch colloquium, October 14, 2009) give a nice introduction to the research actvities of DCSC in the framework of the CONDOR project and the possiblities for MSc students to participate in this research.
  
  
• Interactive 3D content conversion for TV
  
  Problem definition
  Currently 3D (auto-) stereoscopic displays suffer from the lack of 3D content. As a consequence unsupervised (fully automatic) algorithms are often used to produce 3D models from stereoscopic content. However, the resulting 3D geometry often contains large errors that result in objects being placed at the wrong depth and visible texture rendering artefacts.

  A possible solution to this problem is the introduction of supervised computer vision algorithms that maximize the conversion quality for a given amount of operator input (fixed cost) or, minimize conversion effort (cost) for a given output quality (fixed quality). These algorithms are difficult to design since they require taking into account the ease with which the operator interacts with the content. However, potentially a high quality can be achieved in the construction of three-dimensional models both using stereo and for monoscopic visual data as input.

  Research questions
  From the above problem we can pose the following research questions:

  - How can modern computer vision algorithms such as object recognition and detection, region segmentation and machine learning be used in an interactive 2D to 3D conversion system?
  - Is it possible to predict the required number of user inputs (amount of work) given a known performance of the varies computer vision algorithms (e.g. detection rate)?
  - Is it possible to construct a learning algorithm that improves each of the computer vision methods using the required user inputs such that the system becomes more efficient over time?

  Assignment
  The student will investigate the above questions and investigate algorithms to answer these questions. A proof of concept will be created using C++ and OpenCV. The operator/user efficiency of the conversion tool and its resulting 3D geometry models will be shown and tested on an autostereoscopic 3D-TV.

  This project is done in close collaboration with Philips Consumer Lifestyle in Eindhoven. For part of the project time, the student will be co-located at the premises of Philips.

• Estimation of the step size of single molecular motors