Promarand

Research

While at Boston University, I was a member of the Image and Video Computing. My research involved analyzing the flight patterns of bats from infrared video. Using image processing, I looked into the flight paths of individual bats and the column depth and density of colonies while they emerged from their roosts at dusk.

This work was part of a multi-univeristy effort leading to a number of publications including:

{1} M. Betke, D. E. Hirsh, N. C. Makris, G. F. McCracken, M. Procopio, N. I. Hristov, S. Tang, A. Bagchi, J. Reichard, J. Horn, S. Crampton, C. J. Cleveland, and T. H. Kunz. "Thermal Imaging Reveals Significantly Smaller Brazilian Free-tailed Bat Colonies than Previously Estimated." Journal of Mammalogy, 89(1):18-24,February 2008. Abstract

Also discussed in Nature, 452, Research Highlights, p. 507.

{2} N. I. Hristov, M. Betke, L. Premerlani, M. Procopio, and T. H. Kunz. "Thermal Imaging Reveals Highly Variable Nightly and Seasonal Activity Patterns of Brazilian Free-tailed Bats at Carlsbad Caverns." XIV International Bat Research Conference (IBRC) and the 37th Annual North American Symposium on Bat Research (NASBR), Mérida, Mexico, 19-23 August 2007.

Other CS Projects

Streaming BitTorrent

A version of the BitTorrent protocol that would allow the user to start viewing media before the entire file had been downloaded. This is done by prioritizing piece downloads based on peer latency and availability. Priority is given to pieces needed to fill a buffer and start viewing the media. If enough high priority pieces are downloaded to fill the buffer, a higher priority is given to rarer pieces, where there are less peers offering a particular piece.

Sensor Network

Using networked webcams and thermometers, the system used a change in room temperature as a trigger to count the number of people in a room. This was accomplished through various image processing techniques including background subtraction and blob detection.

Video-based Activity Recognition

Implemented template matching and background subtraction to detect various types of activity from a webcam stream.