Images, videos, three-dimensional CAD-models, and even
complete virtual worlds are increasingly used to store
information about the world around us. To effectively use
such information we need efficient techniques to create it,
analyze it, retrieve it, simulate its behavior, and visualize
it.
The Center for Geometry, Imaging and Virtual Environments
(GIVE) of the Institute of
Information and Computing Sciences at Utrecht University, headed by professor Mark
Overmars, studies such techniques in a fundamental as
well as an application oriented way. The center participates
in the research school ASCI. The three main
lines of research are:
In many areas of computer science it is
necessary to store, analyze, and create or manipulate spatial
data. We study the algorithmic aspects of these tasks: we
perform a fundamental research in this area, and we design
geometric algorithms and data structures for various
application areas.
The amount of digitally acquired and
stored images is so large that we need computerized analysis
and retrieval methods, for example for verification? of
misuse of? a company logo among one of the millions of images
on the Web. We work on feature extraction, segmentation,
matching of images, and organization of images in index
structures for efficient retrieval, with a focus on medical
imaging and shape-based multimedia.
Virtual environments give users a truly
immersive experience in which they can inspect and manipulate
a physically realistic world. Such environments are used for
training, understanding and entertainment. Real-time
graphics, navigation (or motion) and realistic interaction
are key issues in virtual environments.?
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