Computer Vision, Robotics, Psychophysics, and Virtual Reality
at the University of Rochester
Dana Ballard, Chris Brown, Kyros Kutulakos, Randal Nelson
Our group has been pursuing state-of-the-art computer vision research since the Department's founding in 1974. Ever since the group's inception, we have been studying the intimate association between computer vision, robotics, the computational modeling of humans (computational psychophysical, kinematic, and neural models), and the computer perception of humans (e.g. medical imaging). Our group was instrumental in the development of the active vision paradigm and, more recently, has been involved in human monitoring (advanced instrumentation in human-centered fields) and production of visual stimuli (computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality).
Our experience is that these currently-disparate fields can, and indeed must, be brought together to do effective computer-enhanced human-centered research. We are training scientists who transcend the boundaries between traditional computer science, psychology, and medicine. Their ability to move flexibly between these fields and to work productively in each will, we believe, be highly rewarding.
A few of the major projects currently under way:
We have always tried to use cutting-edge technology to support our research. In keeping with this goal, we have invested over the last 5 years more than $1.2 million for specialized vision, robotics and graphics hardware. Our vision and robotics research is currently supported by hardware designed to study and simulate human visuo-motor coordination. The vision and robotics laboratory has two six-degree-of-freedom (DOF) arms, two binocular robot heads (6 DOF and 8 DOF), a 16 DOF robot hand, two mobile robots, many cameras, several real-time vision processors (Cognachrome, Datacube), and a specialized 4-processor UltraSparc with 2GB of main memory. Our psychophysics laboratory is an NIH-funded National Resource for Brain and Behavior, providing realistic virtual visual and haptic environments in conjunction with the monitoring of behavioral state. It allows the simultaneous recording of unrestricted head, eye and hand movements during visually-guided tasks. The laboratory has a driving simulator, several virtual reality helmets with eye-trackers, Cyberglove and ExOs hand, head, and eye tracking hardware, and twin Phantom virtual haptic devices. Our work on virtual and augmented reality is supported by an SGI Ultimate Reality Engine, several virtual reality helmets, cameras, and production-quality digital video hardware (digital video recorder, video-equipped SGI workstation, and video manipulation systems). We are also affiliated with laboratories in Neurophysiology (human sled, monkey rotator sled, human auditory stimulator, monkey planar sled, human position platform) and Dermatology (multiple high-quality digital progressive-scan cameras for Real-Time Body Imaging).
Over the years, our group has collaborated closely with the UR Computer Science Department systems group, often in the use of parallel computation for artificial intelligence applications. Currently, through bridging fellowships and joint appointments, we have Profs. Hayhoe and Ballard working jointly in the Center for Visual Science and the Computer Science Department, and Prof. Kutulakos has a joint appointment with Dermatology and Computer Science. We expect soon to be using computer vision techniques in conjunction with speech, language, and dialog understanding projects at URCS.
The UR Computer Science Department benefits from its relatively small size in a number of ways, starting with the student, faculty, and staff collegiality and shared infrastructure that maintains a single-family atmosphere. You are funded as long as you make adequate academic progress, and our stipend levels are competitive. We expect three teaching assistantships during your tenure here. You choose your own advisor on intellectual grounds, independent of money considerations. Our PhD qualifying process is designed to ramp you smoothly from courses to independent research in at most two years. Our apprenticeship model of advising gets you into research, travel, publication and presentation early.
Recent graduates of our group: Martin Jagersand (PhD 1997), Olac Fuentes (PhD 1997, Assistant Professor, IPN, Mexico City), Raj Rao (PhD 1997, Postdoctoral Associate, Salk Institute), Andrew McCallum (PhD 1996, Postdoctoral Associate, Carnegie-Mellon U.), Polly Pook (PhD 1996, MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory), Jerf Schneider (PhD 1996, Carnegie-Mellon U.).
For more information visit our group's Web page:
http://www.cs.rochester.edu/research/.For general information and electronic application material visit our department's main Web page:
http:/www.cs.rochester.edu/.Fees are waived for early applications.