Syllabus

University of Florida

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

EEE 6512, Section 012A 

Image Processing and Computer Vision

Fall 2021


Course Description

This is a 3-credit course.

This course introduces fundamental concepts and techniques for image processing and computer vision.  We will address 1) how to efficiently represent and process image/video signals, and 2) how to deliver image/video signals over networks.  Topics to be covered include: image acquisition and display using digital devices, properties of human visual perception, sampling and quantization, image enhancement, image restoration, two-dimensional Fourier transforms, linear and nonlinear filtering, morphological operations, noise removal, image deblurring, edge detection, image registration and geometric transformation, image/video compression, video communication standards, video transport over the Internet and wireless networks, object recognition and image understanding. 

Course Prerequisites

Required Textbook

or

Recommended Readings

Instructor:

Dr. Dapeng Wu
Office: NEB 431
Email: dpwu@ufl.edu

TA:

1) Haotian Jiang
Email: haotian.jiang@ufl.edu

2) Tianqi Liu

Email: tianqi.liu1@ufl.edu

3) Nidish Vashistha

Email: nidish@ufl.edu

Course website:     http://www.wu.ece.ufl.edu/courses/eee6512f21

Meeting Time

Monday, Wednesday, Friday, period 8 (3 pm - 3:50 pm)    

Meeting Room

NEB 100

Office Hours

Structure of the Course

The course consists of lectures, 6 homework assignments, a quiz, and 1 project.

This course is primarily a lecture course.   I cover all important material in lectures.  Since EEL 3135 and  EEL 4516 are  prerequisites, I assume some previous knowledge about DSP, probability theory and stochastic processes, and hence I will cover some material very quickly.  Thus, depending on what and how much you recall from earlier study, varying amounts of reading in introductory books on DSP, probability theory and stochastic processes (other than the course textbook) may be necessary; these readings are up to the student.  I will only give reading assignments from the course textbook.

Attending lecture is quite important as I may cover material not available in any book easily accessible to you. I use Powerpoint presentation during lecture.  Lecture notes will be posted on the course website before the class.  The lecture is to engage the students in independent thinking, critical thinking, and creative thinking, help the students organize the knowledge around essential concepts and fundamental principles, and develop conditionalized knowledge which tells them when, where and why a certain method is applicable to solving the problem they encounter.  

I do not intend for the WWW material to be a substitute for attending lecture since engaging the students in active thinking, making logical connections between the old knowledge and the new knowledge, and providing insights are the objectives of my lecture.   The lecture notes are posted on the web so that you can miss an occasional lecture and still catch up, and it makes taking notes easier. 

Course Outline

Course Objectives

Upon the completion of the course, the student should be able to

Handouts

Please find handouts here.

Course Policies

Course Evaluation

Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals. Guidance on how to give feedback in a professional and respectful manner is available at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/students/. Students will be notified when the evaluation period opens, and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or via https://ufl.bluera.com/ufl/. Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students at https://gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results/.

In-Class Recording

Students are allowed to record video or audio of class lectures. However, the purposes for which these recordings may be used are strictly controlled. The only allowable purposes are (1) for personal educational use, (2) in connection with a complaint to the university, or (3) as evidence in, or in preparation for, a criminal or civil proceeding. All other purposes are prohibited. Specifically, students may not publish recorded lectures without the written consent of the instructor.

A “class lecture” is an educational presentation intended to inform or teach enrolled students about a particular subject, including any instructor-led discussions that form part of the presentation, and delivered by any instructor hired or appointed by the University, or by a guest instructor, as part of a University of Florida course. A class lecture does not include lab sessions, student presentations, clinical presentations such as patient history, academic exercises involving solely student participation, assessments (quizzes, tests, exams), field trips, private conversations between students in the class or between a student and the faculty or lecturer during a class session.

Publication without permission of the instructor is prohibited. To “publish” means to share, transmit, circulate, distribute, or provide access to a recording, regardless of format or medium, to another person (or persons), including but not limited to another student within the same class section. Additionally, a recording, or transcript of a recording, is considered published if it is posted on or uploaded to, in whole or in part, any media platform, including but not limited to social media, book, magazine, newspaper, leaflet, or third party note/tutoring services. A student who publishes a recording without written consent may be subject to a civil cause of action instituted by a person injured by the publication and/or discipline under UF Regulation 4.040 Student Honor Code and Student Conduct Code.

Commitment to a Safe and Inclusive Learning Environment

The Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering values broad diversity within our community and is committed to individual and group empowerment, inclusion, and the elimination of discrimination.  It is expected that every person in this class will treat one another with dignity and respect regardless of gender, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, and culture.

If you feel like your performance in class is being impacted by discrimination or harassment of any kind, please contact your instructor or any of the following:

• Your academic advisor or Graduate Program Coordinator

• Jennifer Nappo, Director of Human Resources, 352-392-0904, jpennacc@ufl.edu

• Curtis Taylor, Associate Dean of Student Affairs, 352-392-2177, taylor@eng.ufl.edu

• Toshikazu Nishida, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, 352-392-0943, nishida@eng.ufl.edu

Software Use

All faculty, staff, and students of the University are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing software use. Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator. Because such violations are also against University policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate. We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to uphold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity.

Student Privacy

There are federal laws protecting your privacy with regards to grades earned in courses and on individual assignments. For more information, please see: http://registrar.ufl.edu/catalog0910/policies/regulationferpa.html

Campus Resources:

Health and Wellness

Covid-19 Protocols:

•         You are expected to wear approved face coverings at all times during class and within buildings even if you are vaccinated. Please continue to follow healthy habits, including best practices like frequent hand washing. Following these practices is our responsibility as Gators.

 •         If you are sick, stay home and self-quarantine. Please visit the UF Health Screen, Test & Protect website about next steps, retake the questionnaire and schedule your test for no sooner than 24 hours after your symptoms began. Please call your primary care provider if you are ill and need immediate care or the UF Student Health Care Center at 352-392-1161 (or email covid@shcc.ufl.edu) to be evaluated for testing and to receive further instructions about returning to campus. UF Health Screen, Test & Protect offers guidance when you are sick, have been exposed to someone who has tested positive or have tested positive yourself. Visit the UF Health Screen, Test & Protect website for more information.

 U Matter, We Care:

Your well-being is important to the University of Florida.  The U Matter, We Care initiative is committed to creating a culture of care on our campus by encouraging members of our community to look out for one another and to reach out for help if a member of our community is in need.  If you or a friend is in distress, please contact umatter@ufl.edu so that the U Matter, We Care Team can reach out to the student in distress.  A nighttime and weekend crisis counselor is available by phone at 352-392-1575.  The U Matter, We Care Team can help connect students to the many other helping resources available including, but not limited to, Victim Advocates, Housing staff, and the Counseling and Wellness Center.  Please remember that asking for help is a sign of strength.  In case of emergency, call 9-1-1.

 Counseling and Wellness Center: https://counseling.ufl.edu, and  392-1575; and the University Police Department: 392-1111 or 9-1-1 for emergencies.

 Sexual Discrimination, Harassment, Assault, or Violence

If you or a friend has been subjected to sexual discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault, or violence contact the Office of Title IX Compliance, located at Yon Hall Room 427, 1908 Stadium Road, (352) 273-1094, title-ix@ufl.edu

 Sexual Assault Recovery Services (SARS)

Student Health Care Center, 392-1161.

 University Police Department at 392-1111 (or 9-1-1 for emergencies), or http://www.police.ufl.edu/.

 

Academic Resources

E-learning technical support, 352-392-4357 (select option 2) or e-mail to Learning-support@ufl.edu. https://lss.at.ufl.edu/help.shtml.

Career Resource Center, Reitz Union, 392-1601.  Career assistance and counseling. https://www.crc.ufl.edu/.

Library Support, http://cms.uflib.ufl.edu/ask. Various ways to receive assistance with respect to using the libraries or finding resources.

Teaching Center, Broward Hall, 392-2010 or 392-6420. General study skills and tutoring. https://teachingcenter.ufl.edu/.

Writing Studio, 302 Tigert Hall, 846-1138. Help brainstorming, formatting, and writing papers. https://writing.ufl.edu/writing-studio/.

Student Complaints Campus: https://www.dso.ufl.edu/documents/UF_Complaints_policy.pdf.

On-Line Students Complaints: http://www.distance.ufl.edu/student-complaint-process.

Grading:

Grades Percentage Due Dates
Homework 30% See the course calendar
Project proposal 10% 4pm, October 29
Quiz 10% December 8
Project report 50% 4pm, December 15

The project report consists of

  1. (50%) A written report for your project
  2. (25%) Computer programs that you develop for your project
  3. (10%) Powerpoint file of your presentation
  4. (15%) Your presentation/demo video on YouTube

Grading scale:

Top 25% students will receive A. Average score will be at least B+.

More information on UF grading policy may be found at: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx

Homework:

Class Project:

The class project will be done individually (that is, teaming with other students is not allowed).   Each project requires a proposal and a final report.   The final report is expected to be in the format of a conference paper plus computer programs, a Powerpoint file, and a video.   On Oct. 29, the project proposal (up to 2 pages) is due.  On Dec. 15, the final report (up to 10 pages) is due.   For details about the project, please read here.

Suggested topics for projects are listed here.

Course calendar can be found here.

Related courses in other schools:

George Mason University, Computer Vision

Johns Hopkins University, Image Compression and Packet Video

Polytechnic University, Video Processing

Purdue University, Digital Video Systems

Stanford University, Digital Video Processing

University of California, Berkeley, Multimedia Signal Processing, Communications and Networking

University of Maryland, College Park, Digital Image Processing

University of Maryland, College Park, Multimedia Communication & Information Security: A Signal Processing Perspective


Useful links


The Missing Semester of Your CS Education


Standards:

ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) & HDTV (High Definition Television):

MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group):

Software:

HSI color model

Compression link: http://cchen1.et.ntust.edu.tw/compression/compression.htm


JOURNALS

Elsevier


IEEE


Kluwer


SPIE


Digital Video and Multimedia Standards Pages


Digital TV and DVD


Overview of the AVI format


Signal Processing Information Base (SPIB)


Computer Vision


Public Domain Image Databases

CMU Database
 


Patent licensing

As with MPEG-2 Parts 1 and 2 and MPEG-4 Part 2 amongst others, the vendors of H.264/AVC products and services are expected to pay patent licensing royalties for the patented technology that their products use. The primary source of licenses for patents applying to this standard is a private organization known as MPEG-LA, LLC (which is not affiliated in any way with the MPEG standardization organization, but which also administers patent pools for MPEG-2 Part 1 Systems, MPEG-2 Part 2 Video, MPEG-4 Part 2 Video, and other technologies).

To search patents, visit free patent searching site: www.FreePatentsOnline.com.