Handbook of Computer Vision and Applications, Three-Volume Set

£710.00

This three-volume set is a remarkable collection of articles on computervision and image processing. Although written by a diverse collection ofexperts, the chapters have been superbly edited to achieve a coherentpresentation, with consistent notation and perspective throughout.Spanning most areas in the field of computer vision, its applicationsand its foundations, most of the individual chapters are self-contained.The editors have also added well-written chapters to provide a solidbase of introductory material.Computer vision is an interdisciplinary field of research with manyindustrial and scientific domains of application. Its foundations aredrawn from physics, signal processing, applied mathematics, computerscience, electrical engineering, and neuroscience. Applications includemobile robotics, medical image analysis, human-computer interaction,and scientific areas for which computer vision image analysis techniquesare becoming a key source of scientific data. Indeed, one of the greatstrengths of this three-volume set is its focus on both the theoreticalfoundations of the field and the applications of the techniques.The first volume introduces the principles of imaging, which editorsof this book are in a unique position to produce. These chaptersinclude detailed introductions to optics, radiometry, reflectance,illumination sources, and sensor technologies. The handbook alsoextends this introduction to several other imaging modalities, including3d range imaging, infrared imaging, MRI, fluoroscopic imaging, and electronmicroscopy. These chapters provide a thorough, accessible treatment ofimaging that is unparalleled in any book on computer vision or imageprocessing. Volume one of the handbook constitutes a definitive andcoherent treatment of radiometry, imaging and sensors.Volume two introduces the mathematical foundations of image processingand computer vision. These chapters cover many core areas of computervision research (e.g., multiscale image representation, motion, texture,stereo, shape-from-shading, etc) as well as more recent promisingdevelopments (e.g., nonlinear diffusion, robust variational techniques,and Bayesian methods). While this volume may not be appropriate for acourse textbook on computer vision, it should provide students with anoutstanding resource.Volume three is a unique contribution to the computer vision literature,never before have editors been so dedicated to including thorough, carefultreatments of such a broad range of industrial and scientific applicationsof computer vision. With over 40 chapters on applications, there arearticles on photogrammetry, oceanography, botany, surveillance, peopletracking, visually-guided control, 3d object recognition, and many others.While, such applications are often ignored by textbooks and edited volumesdevoted to computer vision, this unique volume provides a vivid snapshotof the depth and diversity of the state of the art in computer visionapplications today.This handbook on computer vision and its applications is a unique,comprehensive reference that all libraries and computer vision laboratorieswill want to have on their shelves. It will also serve as a rich resourcefor instructors teaching courses on computer vision and image processing,the enclosed CD contains pdf versions of all chapters, which will greatlyenhance the value of the handbook.David Fleet, Xerox Palo Alto Research Ctr.These three volumes collect an enormous amount of information abouttechnical aspect of computer vision, and are written by some of the bestEuropean scientists in the field. Every chapter explores a particulardevice, technique, or application in much greater detail, and strives forgreater accuracy of results, than standard computer vision books do.Applications and examples describe real systems, actually deployed inindustrial and scientific settings.Imaging systems are studied well beyond the pinhole camera model. A wholevolume is devoted to them, ranging from a thorough and rigorous discussionof the basic principles, both for two- and three-dimensional acquisition,through an authoritative analysis of sensors, and to up-to-date accounts ofimagers of all types: cameras, ultrasound and acoustic imagers, rangefinders, microscopes, MRI devices, and more.Volume two covers classical computer vision techniques. The vast range oftopics, from signal processing to knowledge-based interpretation of images,is covered with unprecedented thoroughness, and a fantastic effort has beenmade to treat all topics in a uniform, simple, and well designed notation,and to place them into a coherent conceptual framework. Individual chapters,or collections of chapters, from volume two can be used as an excellentbasis for college courses on nearly every aspect of computer vision. Theaccompanying CD-ROM, with its wealth of both images and software, can addsubstantial value to such courses.Volume three, being a collection of case studies, is more varied in itslevel of coverage, with some of the chapters describing preliminary results,and others, like Dickmann s chapter on dynamic vision, surveying decades ofconcentrated work on a particular topic. In all cases, however, attentionfor detail and strive for accuracy set this collection apart.Together, these three impressive volumes testify to the maturing role ofcomputer vision as a discipline with both conceptual depth and greatindustrial, scientific, and technical relevance.Carlo Tomasi, Robotics Laboratory, Stanford University