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--- projects [2013/08/23 02:03] – pd
+++ projects [2013/12/13 04:10] (current) – wildes
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-====== Proposed Projects  ======
+====== Proposed Projects for Winter 2014 ======
-Current proposed Projects, Fall 2013
 \\
 ====== Attentive Sensing for Better Two-Way Communication in Remote Learning Environments ======
@@ Line 37: / Line 36: @@
 .     Evaluate current attentive algorithms on these datasets
 .     Modify these algorithms to improve performance on these datasets
+------------
 \\
-\\
+====== Hunting for Bugs in Logging: applying JPF to log4j ======
-------------------
-\\
-Additional current possible  projects will be listed here by start of fall term.
-\\
-------------------
-\\
-\\
-=====Previous Projects from Summer 2013=====
-======Tracking and Activity Recognition Through Consensus in Distributed Camera Networks======
+**Supervisor:** Franck van Breugel
-**Supervisor**: Amir Asif
+Description:
+Java PathFinder (JPF) is a tool that can detect bugs in Java code.
+The Java library Apache log4j allows developers to control which log
+statements are output.  In the past, Dickey et al. [1] have attempted
+to detect bugs in log4j by means of JPF with very limited succes.
-**Required Background: ** Computer Vision or Signal and Systems Course preferred; Matlab; Interest in Signal/Image Processing
+Recently, in collaboration with Shafiei (NASA) we have developed
+an extension of JPF called jpf-nhandler.  The aim of this project
+is to apply this extension to log4j.
-**Short Description: **Over the past decade, large-scale camera networks have become increasingly popular in a wide range of applications, including: (i) Sports analysis; (ii) Security and surveillance; (iii) disaster response, and; (iv) Environmental modeling, where the objective is to follow the trajectory of a key target, for example, a star player in a soccer game or a suspect in a surveillance environment. In many applications, bandwidth constraints, security concerns, and difficulty in storing and analyzing large amounts of image data centrally at a single location necessitate the development of distributed camera network architectures. In this project, we investigate distributed scene analysis algorithms, where each camera estimates certain parameters of the target using a signal processing algorithm based upon its own set of observations. The local estimates are then shared with the neighboring cameras in an iterative, goosip-type fashion, and a final estimate is computed across the network using consensus algorithms. The selected student will develop Matlab code to apply distributed signal processing algorithms [1,2] that have been developed in the Signal Processing and Communications lab for target tracking and activity recognition in distributed camera networks.
+[1] David A. Dickey, B. Sinem Dorter, J. Michael German, Benjamin D. Madore, Mark W. Piper, Gabriel L. Zenarosa. "Evaluating Java PathFinder on Log4J."  2011.
+**Required Background:** General CSE408x prerequisites
+\\
+------------
+\\
+======Hybrid 2D/3D User Interfaces for 3D Rotation ======
+**Supervisor:** Wolfgang Stuerzlinger
-[1] A. Mohammadi and A. Asif, Distributed Particle Filter Implementation with Intermittent/Irregular Consensus Convergence, IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, 2013. http://arxiv.org/abs/1112.2431.
+**Required Background:** General 408X prerequisites, 3D Computer Graphics (3431) completed or equivalent, C/C++ coding experience or (if using Unity 4) Javascript C# coding experience
-[2] A. Mohammadi and A. Asif, Decentralized Sensor Selection based on the Distributed Posterior Cramer-Rao Lower Bound, in proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Information Fusion, Singapore, 2012. pp. 1668-1675.
+This project implements and evaluates a new method for 3D Rotation where the user uses both a 2D and 3D user interface to complete the task. The fundamental idea is to use the 3D interface for large-scale manipulation, but the 2D interface for precise adjustments. The project will use a Leap Motion or similar technology for 3D tracking.
+\\
+------------
+\\
+====== Immersive Virtual Reality Kitchen Planner ======
-====== 3D Drawing System with Leap Motion finger tracker ======
+**Supervisor:** Wolfgang Stuerzlinger
-**Supervisor**: Wolfgang Stuerzlinger
+**Required Background:** General 408X prerequisites, 3D Computer Graphics (3431) completed or equivalent, 4431 desired, Javascript or C# coding experience
-**Required Background**: 3D computer graphics, C/C++ coding
+This project implements a kitchen planner application for an immersive virtual reality system. The implementation will be based on Unity 4.
+\\
+------------
+\\
+======3D Interaction in Immersive Virtual Reality======
-The Leap Motion, leapmotion.com, is a new device that lets users control a computer with their fingers. This project creates a new 3D drawing system that enables users to quickly generate 3D solids.
+**Supervisor:** Wolfgang Stuerzlinger
-====== 3D Drawing System with 3Gear gesture tracker ======
+**Required Background:** General 408X prerequisites, 3D Computer Graphics (3431) completed or equivalent, 4431 desired, Javascript or C# coding experience
-**Supervisor**: Wolfgang Stuerzlinger
+This project implements and tests various 3D Navigation and 3D Interaction methods in an immersive virtual reality system. The target is to enable the user to roam freely in a large environment while still being able to interact with the environment. The implementation will be based on Unity 4.
+\\
+------------
+\\
+====== Leveraging binary instrumentation to support monitoring and debugging of large scale software system in the field======
+**Supervisor:**Zhen Ming (Jack) Jiang (zmjiang at cse dot yorku dot ca)
-**Required Background**: 3D computer graphics, C/C++ coding
+**Required Background:** Good programming skills (especially in Java); Good analytical and communication skills; Interested in large complex software systems and automated software analysis.
-The 3Gear system, threegear.com, lets users control a computer with their hands and fingers. This project creates a new 3D drawing system that enables users to quickly generate and modify 3D solids.
+**Short Description:** Many large scale software systems ranging from e-commerce websites (e.g., eBay) to telecommunication infrastructures (e.g., AT&T) are required to be available and ready to service by millions of users all the time. It is essential to monitor the behavior of these systems in the field and troubleshoot problems whenever they arise. On one hand, many existing monitoring tools (e.g., PerfMon and pidstat) mainly focus on the high level resource usage data (e.g., CPU and memory). On other hand, although profilers (e.g., JProfiler and DTrace) can provide detailed information on the internal system behavior, it is not feasible to run them with the field systems due to their high overhead. Binary instrumentation is a program analysis technique, which can add additional monitoring points without modifying or restarting the system. This project aims to explore the feasibility of leveraging binary instrumentation to automatically monitor and debug the behavior of these field systems. The student(s) will first evaluate the pros and cons on various binary instrumentation libraries (e.g., ASM and PIN). Then he/she will implement a monitoring/debugging framework using the selected instrumentation library.
+ \\
+------------
+\\
+====== Mining Software Repositories Data======
+**Supervisor:** Zhen Ming (Jack) Jiang (zmjiang at cse dot yorku dot ca)
-====== Tilt Target Selection on Touchscreen Phones ======
+**Required Background:** Good programming skills in Java; Good analytical and communication skills; Knowledge in AI and statistics; Interested in large scale software analysis
-**Supervisor**: Scott MacKenzie
+**Short Description:** Software engineering data (e.g., source code repositories and bug databases) contains a wealth of information about a project's status and history. The research on Mining Software Repositories (MSR) aims to transform the data from static record-keeping repositories into knowledge, which can guide the software development process. For example, one can derive correct API usage patterns and flag anomalous (and potentially buggy) API usages by mining the source code across many projects in GitHub and Google Code. In this project, the student(s) will research and develop an efficient infrastructure, where MSR researchers and practitioners can share and analyze such data.
-**Required Background**: General 4080 prerequisites, CSE3461, and (preferably) CSE4441. Interest in user interfaces and human-computer interaction (HCI).  Students can use their own Android phone for the project or one supplied by the course supervisor.
+\\
+------------------
+\\
-Touchscreen mobile devices commonly use a built-in accelerometer to sense movement or tilting actions of the device.  Tilt is commonly used the change the orientation of the display between portrait and landscape.  Gaming is another common use for tilting actions.  However, tilt may also be used for target selection, as a replacement for touch.  This research project will evaluate tilt as an input primitive for target selection on touchscreen mobile devices.
+======Reliably tracking horizontal eye movements======
-**Readings**: MacKenzie, I. S., & Teather, R. J. (2012). FittsTilt: The application of Fitts’ law to tilt-based interaction. Proceedings of the Seventh Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction – NordiCHI 2012, pp. 568-577. New York: ACM.
+**Supervisor:** Wolfgang Stuerzlinger
+**Required Background:** General 408X prerequisites, C++/C# coding experience. Ideally CSE3451, CSE4422 or CSE4452.
-====== Continuation of a Path Diagram to Syntax Application ======
+**Description:** The Intel Perceptual Computing SDK includes support for head tracking and facial analysis. The project will use the Creative Interactive Gesture Camera, a depth camera designed to work with the SDK. Based on these technologies, the project implements an eye tracking system that detects the horizontal eye position and consequently, if the user is looking at the left, center, or right portion of the screen. Based on this, the project will implement a simple media browsing browsing system, e.g., for TV channels, music, or videos.
-**Supervisor**: Jeff Edmonds
+\\
+------------------
+\\
-**Required Background**: General CSE408x prerequisites
+======Model-based Design and Development of Embedded Systems with Code Generation Tools======
-**Recommended Background**: Java software development
+**Supervisor:** Jia Xu
-Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a statistical technique that is becoming increasingly popular in the educational and behavioral sciences. SEM allows researchers to test the validity of hypothesized models involving complex relationships among multiple variables. Collected data is used to estimate the parameters of the equations and assessing the fit of the model.
+**Required Background:** At least a B+ in Embedded Systems (CSE3215), MATLAB, C programming skills, solid experience in using a microcontroller
+such as Arduino.
-The software required is an application that allows researchers to define their hypothesized models visually and will output the correct syntax for the analytical software of their choosing.
+**Project Description:**
-To date a promising functional application has been developed in JAVA by a Computer Science student as a 4080 project. The existing software allows the user to draw a path diagram and outputs code for the R package sem.  There are a number of improvements to be made (refinements and additions to graphical user interface) and then the application needs to be extended to output syntax appropriate for additional software applications (openMX, MPlus and EQS).  Though this project may not begin at “the first stages” of the software lifecycle, this scenario is likely common in the software development market. In addition, the student will be working with a primary “client” who is far less technically advanced, which is also reflective of real-world situations.
+Model-based design with code generation tools can be used for simulation, rapid prototyping, and hardware-in-the-loop testing of embedded systems. This project explores model-based design and development of embedded systems on various hardware platforms with code generation tools. The selected student will develop and test embedded systems using model-based design and code generation tools such as MathWorks MATLAB /Simulink Coder.
-More details {{:continuation_of_a_path_diagram_to_syntax_application.pdf|here}}.
+\\
+------------------
+\\
+======C2000 Concerto Microcontrollers======
+**Supervisor:** Jia Xu
-====== Enabling SaaS access to an experimental AI planner ======
+**Required Background:** At least a B+ in Embedded Systems (CSE3215),
+strong C programming skills, solid knowledge of microcontrollers
-**Supervisor**: Sotirios Liaskos (liaskos at yorku dot ca)
+**Description:** The C2000 Concerto family of microcontrollers combines
+two cores on a single-chip with on-chip low latency interprocessor communication between the two cores: a C28x 32-bit control core for
+real-time control with faster/more loops and small sampling window;
+and an ARM 32-bit Cortex-M3 host core for communications and general purpose. The selected student will evaluate the capabilities of the
+C2000 Concerto family of microcontrollers through testing and investigating open source software for real-time control applications
+that runs on C2000 Concerto Microcontrollers.
-**Required Background**: Good knowledge of Unix tools / Python, Perl or Awk. Comfort with algorithms and programming. Essential: 2031 -- Software Tools. Desired:
+\\
- -- Functional & Logic Programming,
+------------------
- -- Design and Analysis of Algorithms,
+\\
- -- Compilers and Interpreters.
-**Description**: This project involves enriching and integrating a set of fairly complex scripts, which are components of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) planner, and exporting them to the public in a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) fashion.
+======Real-Time Bidding Platform======
-The components are various Unix executables and LISP programs that need to interact in complex ways. The components may be residing in different servers in different universities. Currently integration is performed manually, at the expense of usability. Thus, we aim at constructing a module that: (a) integrates involved components to deliver output in one call, (b) exports a unique web interface (preferably following WSDL/SOAP) to be easily accessed by custom front-end tools by anyone, anywhere, (c ) offers a simple front-end for human users.
+**Supervisor:** Jia Xu
-Learning objectives:
+**Required Background:** At least a B+ in Operating System Fundamentals
-  * Understand the technologies and process involved in turning native code into a web-service ("servicizing").
+(CSE3221), strong Ubuntu/Linux, C++ programming, GCC, TCP/IP skills
-  * Study a state-of-the-art AI planner and understand its workings.
-  * Exercise scripting skills.
+**Description:** Real-time bidding (RTB) is a new method of selling and buying online display advertising in real-time one ad impression at a time. Once a bid request has been sent out, all bids must be received within a strict deadline - generally under 100 milliseconds, including network latency. This project explores RTBkit, an open source SDK allowing developers to create customized real time ad bidding systems (for Media Buyers/Bidders).
-====== Predicting Angular Error in Rigid Registration ======
+\\
+------------------
+\\
-**Supervisor**: Burton Ma
+======Circuit and Board Design for a Pulsed Ground Penetrating Radar======
-**Description**: Registration is a fundamental step in image-based surgical
+**Supervisor:**Sebastian Magierowski
-navigation. Several (seemingly) different approaches for predicting
-distance errors in registration are known, but for some surgical
-procedures, the angular error in registration is more important.
-This project will validate an approach for predicting angular
-error in registration; the student will use a combination of
-simulated and actual registration data for testing purposes.
-====== Calibration of a Tracked Pointer ======
+**Description:** The project requires the construction of components for a ground penetrating radar.  The students would have to design microwave boards for the high-frequency components of this unit, on both the transmitter and the receiver.  On the transmitter side the board would take a 5-MHz input clock, run it through a series of off-the-shelf amplifiers and then through a shaping circuit that would convert the input into an outgoing series of pulses (still at 5-MHz repetition rate) less than 400-ps in duration each.  The bandwidth of the signal is roughly 2-8 GHz and hence requires very careful board layout.  The receiver would be a time-shifted sampler, used to sample the returning pulses in progressive periods.  This radar circuit is ultimately intended to be positioned on a rover doing ground analysis.
-**Supervisor**: Burton Ma
+**Required Background** A background in undergraduate-level electronics is very important.  Experience with board level implementations and knowledge of microstrip lines would be helpful, otherwise the basics would have to be picked up during the project.
-**Description**: Tracked pointers are the most common tools used in surgical
+\\
-navigation systems. A typical pointer has a tracked target on one
+------------------
-end and a sharp or ball tip on the other end. Finding the location
+\\
-of the tip relative to the target is a calibration problem. One
+More project proposals may be added here in the first week of the winter term.
-solution to the calibration problem involves pivoting the pointer
+\\
-about the tip while tracking the target; if the tip is kept
+------------------
-stationary, then the target moves on the surface of a sphere.
+\\
-Fitting the tracking data to the surface of a sphere yields the
+\\
-location of the tip as the sphere center. Unfortunately, the
-calibrated tip position obtained using such a spherical calibration
-has high variance. This project will investigate how much variance
-there is in the calibrated tip position, and methods for reducing
-the variance of the calibrated tip position.
-====== A privacy safeguard framework for sharing photos on Facebook ======
-**Supervisor**: Uyen Trang Nguyen
-**Description**:
-One of the major privacy concerns in Online Social Networks is photo sharing.  A user may post his/her friends’ photos without their consent.  The friends have no control over the user’s Facebook activities, namely photo sharing.  In this project, we design and implement a third-party Facebook application that allows people to protect their identities in photos uploaded by another user without their consent.
-**Required prerequisite background**:  Proficiency in programming, especially in Java and Web application programming.
-**Desired prerequisite**: Knowledge of image processing, Facebook API, JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)