New digital image processing and recognition methods, implementation techniques and advanced applications (television, remote sensing, biomedicine, traffic, inspection, robotics, etc.) are presented in this volume. Novel approaches (i.e. digital filters, source coding, neural networks etc.) for solving 2-D and 3-D problems are described. Many papers focus on the motion estimation and tracking recognition of moving objects. The increasingly important field of Cultural Heritage is also covered. Some papers are more theoretical or of review nature, while others contain new implementations and applications. Generally the book presents - for the above outlined area - the state of the art (theory, implementation, applications) with future trends.This book will be of interest not only to researchers, professors and students in university departments of engineering, communications, computers and automatic control, but also to engineers and managers of industries concerned with computer vision, manufacturing, automation, robotics and quality control.

Table of Contents:
Digital Processing Methods and Techniques. On 3-D space-time interpolation and data compression of digital image sequences using low-order 3-D IIR filters (H.-L.M. Cheng, L.T. Bruton). Flicker reduction in old film sequences (invited) (P.M.B. van Roosmalen et al.). Multichannel filters in television image processing (K.N. Plantaniotis et al.). Pattern Recognition. Blotch and scratch detection in image sequences based on rank ordered differences (invited) M.J. Nadenau, S.K. Mitra). Feature matching by optimization using environmental constraints (A. Branca et al.). System identification for fuzzy controllers (G. Castellano et al.). Computer Vision. Computer vision for autonomous navigation: from research to applications (G.Garibotto et al.). An optimal estimator of camera motion by a non-stationary image model (G. Giunta, U. Mascia). A simple cue based camera calibration method for digital production of moving images (Y. Nakazawa et al.). Exploration of the environment with optical sensors mounted on a mobile robot (P. Weckesser et al.). Image Coding and Transmission. Time-varying image processing for 3D model-based video coding (invited) (T.S. Huang et al.). A new arbitrary shape DCT for object-based image coding (M. Tanimoto, M. Sato) Picture coding using splines (M. Buscemi et al.). A 10kb/s video coding technique based on spatial transformation (S. Bonifacio et al.). Image communications projects in ACTS (invited) (F. Bigi). Conveying multimedia services within the MPEG-2 transport stream (L. Aztori et al.). A subband video transmission coding system for ATM network (M. Eyvazkhani). A high efficiency coding method (K. Kamikura et al.). A sequence analysis system for video databases (M. Ceccarelli et al.). Subjective image quality estimation in subband coding: methodology and human visual system application (Z. Bojkovic et al.). Remote Sensing Data and Image Processing. Neural networks for multi-temporal and multi-sensor data fusion in land cover classification (A. Chiuderi). Influence of quantization errors on SST computation based on AVHRR images (P.F. Pellegrini et al. Study of ecological condition based upon the remote sensing data and GIS (M. Zhang et al.). PEICRE PROJECT: a practical application of remote sensing techniques for environmental recover and preservation (M. Benvenuti et al.). A wavelet classification chain for rain pattern tracking from meteorological radar data (P. Gamba et al.). Frequency locked loop system for doppler centroid tracking and automatized raw data correction in spotlight real-time SAR processors (F. Impagnatiello, A. Torre). Use of clutter maps in the high resolution radar surveillance of airport surface movements (G. Galati et al.). Simulation of sequences of radar images for airport surveillance applications (F. Marti et al.). Data fusion and non linear processing of E.L.F. signal for the detection of tethered satellite system (S. Monteverde et al.). Digital Processing of Biomedical Images. A simple algorithm for automatic alignment of ocular fundus images (L. Ballerini et al.). Automatic vertebrae recognition throughout a videofluoroscopic sequence for intervertebral kinematics study (P. Bifulco et al.). An evaluation of the auditory cortex response to simple non-speech stimuli through functional MRI (M. Bracale et al.). Motion Estimation. Temporal prediction of video sequences using a region-based image warping technique (invited) (N. Herodotou, A.N. Venetsanopoulos). High performance gesture recognition using probabilistic neural networks and hidden Markov models (G. Rigoll et al.). Image segmentation using motion estimation (K. Illgner, F. Müller). A phase correlation technique for estimating planar rotations (L. Lucchese et al.) Tracking by cooccurrence matrix (L. Favalli et al.). Robust pose estimation by marker identification in image sequences (L. Alparone et al.). Markov random field image motion estimation using mean field theory (A. Chimienti et al.). Moving object detection in image sequences using texture features (F. Müller et al.). Determining velocity vector fields from sequential images representing a salt-water oscillator (A. Nomura, H. Miike). Tracking and Recognition of Moving Objects. Long-memory' matching of interacting complex objects from real image sequences (A. Tesei et al.). Spatial and temporal grouping for obstacle detection in a sequence of road images (S. Denasi, G. Quaglia). Attitude of a vehicle moving on a structured road (A. Guiducci, G. Quaglia). An algorithm for tracking pedestrians at road crossing (M. Loria, A. Machi). Application to Cultural Heritage. Cultural heritage: the example of the consortium alinari 2000-SOM (A. de Polo et al.). Color certification (A. Abrardo et al.). Image retrieval by contents with deformable user-drawn templates (A. del Bimbo, P. Pala). Synthesis of virtual views of non-Lambertian surface through shading-driven interpolation and stereo-matched contours (F. Pedersini et al.). Author Index.