The Image Science and Machine Vision Group [.pdf, .ps]
http://www-ismv.ic.ornl.gov/
Part of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Image Science and Machine Vision Group (ISMV) has the goal of making machines and robots see and interpret things the way humans do. Research is divided into three areas: Measurement and Controls for Industry, Biological Sciences, and Surveillance and Security. A long listing of projects undertaken by ISMV is available in the Research section. Whereas only short descriptions are given for projects that are still in progress, more detailed information is given for recently completed projects. One ISMV project analyzed a poor-quality surveillance tape to convict a killer. The Publications section has a long list of downloadable documents describing some research findings. [CL]
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Aerospace Robotics Laboratory [.pdf, .ps, .gz, .mpeg]
http://arl.stanford.edu/home.html
The Aerospace Robotics Laboratory (ARL), operated at Stanford University, focuses its research "on improving robotic performance through the application of feedback control, integrated sensing systems, and task-level autonomy." The systems designed at ARL allow the human operator to have varying levels of control over the robot. Specifically, the robot performs given tasks until it reaches a point that it can not perform on its own. The human can then intervene and direct the robot manually. A comprehensive list of all ARL publications is available on the Web site, ranging from the 1960's to 2002 (many of the publications after 1990 are available for download). There are even movies of laboratory experiments and demonstrations that can be downloaded and viewed. The Projects section explains the various research projects currently underway. [CL]
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Space Vehicles Directorate [QuickTime]
http://www.vs.afrl.af.mil/
The Space Vehicles Directorate is a division of the Air Force Research Laboratory and is located on Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The directorate is composed of four divisions specializing in research and development, specifically the Battlespace Environment, Spacecraft Technology, Innovative Concepts, and Integrated Experiments divisions. The Web site contains information on all of these divisions, as well as facility and technology program fact sheets, photo and video galleries, and technology demonstrations. Each video even has three versions (small, medium, and large) to make downloading on slow connections easier. There are many projects and areas of research detailed on the site; so, visitors will have plenty of exploring to do. [CL]
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RADIANT Research [.pdf, .ps]
http://public.lanl.gov/radiant/website/research.html
Research and Development in Advanced Network Technology (RADIANT) is a computer research division of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The first Web site offers many publications from the five research focus groups within RADIANT: High-Performance Networking, Monitoring and Measurement, Cyber Security, Network Architecture, and Robust Systems and Networks. This material is mostly beneficial to professionals and research students specializing in these areas. The site also has links to information about job opportunities available at RADIANT, as well as the Advanced Summer Curriculum for Emerging Network Technologies (ASCENT). ASCENT is a summer internship program that accepts both undergraduate and graduate students interested in networking research. [CL]
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Evaluation of Face Recognition Algorithms [.pdf]
http://www.cs.colostate.edu/evalfacerec/
This Web site is an excellent source of information regarding face recognition algorithms. A research team at Colorado State University (CSU) maintains the site and adds updates on a regular basis. There are four algorithms that are covered, including the popular Eigenfaces classifier. Source code written in C is offered as example implementations of each algorithm. There is also information on how to acquire the database of facial images used to test the algorithms, free of charge. The CSU researchers have listed their papers and technical reports on the Web site, which compare and evaluate the performance of each algorithm. [CL]
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Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory
http://www.mel.nist.gov/
The Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory (MEL) is a division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Its function is to work with companies and perform research to improve manufacturing performance. Because of its broad scope, MEL has five divisions -- Precision Engineering, Manufacturing Metrology, Intelligent Systems, Manufacturing Systems Integration, and Fabrication Technology. The laboratory's homepage offers descriptions, research project information, conference and workshop times, and photo and movie galleries from various projects. There is also a link to an Engineering Metrology Toolbox used to "solve real problems in dimensional measurement." [CL]
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Boosting Research Site [.pdf, .ps]
http://www.boosting.org/
Boosting is an intelligent data analysis technique for pattern classification and regression. Also referred to as an ensemble learning method, it is a form of artificial intelligence with close ties to neural networks. The Boosting Research site is a valuable collection of algorithms and publications for student or professional investigators of this advanced topic. People can share their knowledge by uploading papers, data, or code related to boosting. There is also a listing of conferences and events included on the site, as well as links to personal home pages of people involved in boosting research and innovation. [CL]
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Design inSite
http://www.designinsite.dk/htmsider/inspinfo.htm
Manufacturing engineers and home project hobbyists alike will find Design inSite a useful tool in their design process. The site is maintained by an associate research professor at the Technical University of Denmark, and its purpose is to "inspire designers in their designwork to consider materials and processes which are new or unknown to them." This is accomplished with an impressive set of cross-listed databases that consist of products, materials, and manufacturing processes. The power of the site is apparent from the interconnectivity of these three databases. If you look for information about a particular material, the resulting page of data also lists similar materials and provides examples of products and processes that could be useful in the design. The databases are browseable or searchable using keywords. The only drawback to the Web site is the size of the products database, which only has 120 items; however, the ones that are listed will likely give some insight to spark creative ideas. [CL]
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