Tomislav Galba

Technology assisting the blind — Video processing based staircase detection

Real-time video processing and analysis are getting more present in various technical systems and moreover provide potential application in systems for assisting the blind. Fast processing of video frames allows us to extract useful information and detection of objects that are important for the blind people orientation and navigation, especially in unfamiliar areas. In this paper, we propose the method for staircase detection from video frames as a part of assistance system for the blind. The method is based on morphological preprocessing operations and further vertical and horizontal analysis of the frames. The experimental results obtained by implementing proposed method show its contributions in accuracy and performance.

Technology assisting the blind — routing on the staircases using wide-angle camera

Wearable digital systems for the blind persons are more often based on video frames captured using various small-sized cameras. Image analysis and processing techniques allow delivering useful information about environment. Helping the blind in their everyday movement is one of the primary tasks of such first-person vision (FPV) systems. This work extends our previous work on staircase detection to facilitate the routing of the blind on the staircases including the obstacle avoidance. Algorithm for routing is developed and tested on portable computer using small action camera to exploit the benefits of wide-angle input videos and image stabilization feature. Directed sound guidance is proposed as a solution for informing the blind about most adequate route.

Edge-preserving partial variable median filtering for fast noise reduction in CT slices

Median filter as a widespread noise reduction technique is here adapted for images taken with computed tomography (CT) scanner. In order to remove noise and thereby preserve edges and clear contours of objects we propose adapted method which uses partial variable median filtering. Except method explanation, we propose suitable platform for implementation, considering size of data set and time requirements of our method. Experimental image processing results and performance tests are shown in this paper.