Towards a Flexible Approach to Transfer Machine Operation Know-How from Experts to Beginners with AI

Training new users at a production machine is a time intensive and expensive task. To reduce the effort in this task we examine the possibilities of enhancing a production machine with a system that is able to learn from its users and teach inexperienced users this knowledge: Self-Learning and Self-Explanatory Machine SLEM. The learning process of SLEM relies on watching an experienced user working on a machine using camera-based human activity recognition which predicts the acitivities based on the estimated human skeleton in the video stream. SLEM must be able to work with little data to reduce the learning time as much as possible. Thus, this paper shows that training an activity recognition model solely on one experienced individual’s actions can lead to comparatively high activity recognition accuracy despite the low data variety. The results show that training on a single-person dataset can reach relatively high accuracy levels and is a suitable way of training the model in the industrial setting. For the teaching process, in which the system has to compare the actual activities with the target acitivities to give feedback, the activity recognition has to run in real-time. Different amounts of input data for the activity recognition model are examined and lead to a configuration with little accuracy loss and sufficient latency performance

Exploring AI-based Anonymization of Industrial Image and Video Data in the Context of Feature Preservation

With rising technologies, the protection of privacy-sensitive information is becoming increasingly important. In industry and production facilities, image or video recordings are beneficial for documentation, tracing production errors or coordinating workflows. Individuals in images or videos need to be anonymized. However, the anonymized data should be reusable for further applications. In this work, we apply the Deep Learning-based full-body anonymization framework DeepPrivacy2, which generates artificial identities, to industrial image and video data. We compare its performance with conventional anonymization techniques. Therefore, we consider the quality of identity generation, temporal consistency, and the applicability of pose estimation and action recognition.Comment: Accepted at 32nd European Signal Processing Conference (EUSIPCO 2024

Additive genetic variation for tolerance to estrogen pollution in natural populations of Alpine whitefish (Coregonus sp., Salmonidae)

The evolutionary potential of natural populations to adapt to anthropogenic threats critically depends on whether there exists additive genetic variation for tolerance to the threat. A major problem for water-dwelling organisms is chemical pollution, and among the most common pollutants is 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), the synthetic estrogen that is used in oral contraceptives and that can affect fish at various developmental stages, including embryogenesis. We tested whether there is variation in the tolerance to EE2 within Alpine whitefish. We sampled spawners from two species of different lakes, bred them in vitro in a full-factorial design each, and studied growth and mortality of embryos. Exposure to EE2 turned out to be toxic in all concentrations we tested (≥1 ng/L). It reduced embryo viability and slowed down embryogenesis. We found significant additive genetic variation in EE2-induced mortality in both species, that is, genotypes differed in their tolerance to estrogen pollution. We also found maternal effects on embryo development to be influenced by EE2, that is, some maternal sib groups were more susceptible to EE2 than others. In conclusion, the toxic effects of EE2 were strong, but both species demonstrated the kind of additive genetic variation that is necessary for an evolutionary response to this type of pollution

A systematic comparison and evaluation of three different Swept-Source interferometers for eye lengths biometry

This study reviews the development of Swept-Source interferometers and compares systematically three different Swept-Source interferometer designs for biometric measurements of the eye. Principles characteristics, conveniences and accessibilities of the three developed systems are presented. The main difference between the three Swept-Source systems is the method of tuning the wavelength at the broadband optical amplifier. The implementation of a “quasi-phase-continuous method” (QPC) for wavelength tuning led to longer measuring depth but was more time-consuming. The wavelength tuning using a rotating polygon mirror scanner was faster. The wavelength tuning via Fourier Domain Mode Locking (FDML), where the tuning frequency ft of the filter must be matched to the inverse cavity roundtrip time τ, achieved the widest tuning range combined with a rather better resolution and signal to noise ratio (SNR). The swept sources were compared using a fiber-optic based Michelson interferometer setup. Measurements of a self-made human model eye demonstrate excellent capturing of the biometric data, with all interfaces of eye optical components and their contours being clearly detected

Stopping them: The development of fish screens in California

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Fish Bulletin 150. A History of California's Fish Hatcheries 1870–1960

The purpose of this bulletin is to document the development of fish culture in California from 1870 through 1960. During this period, 170 hatcheries and egg collecting stations were constructed, and brief descriptions of many of these are given. Since only 25 installations were operating in 1960, the reasons for closing the other sites were determined when possible. Detailed descriptions of each of the major hatcheries operated in 1960 are presented

Fish Bulletin No. 107. Trout and Salmon Culture (Hatchery Methods)

This volume has been prepared at the request of many of the Department's fish hatchery personnel. A hatchery treatise has long been needed to acquaint the beginning employee with the rudiments of fish culture, and also to act as a handy reference for those already experienced in the work. In addition, it should lead to greater uniformity in operations and to increased hatchery efficiency. It will also be helpful to the growing number of private trout hatchery operators.Even though the art of trout culture dates back to the year 1741, when Stephen Ludwig Jacobi started artificial propagation in Germany, advances in methods and techniques were slow until shortly before World War II. During the past 10 or 12 years, applied science and mechanics have revolutionized fish hatchery operations. More advances have probably occurred during this period than since the very beginning of trout culture. The uses of new chemicals in treating diseases in hatcheries, eradicating undesirable fish populations, spawning, and transporting fish, and the employment of labor-saving devices such as fish loaders, self-graders, incubators, and dry feeds are only a few of the advances illustrating the progress made. They indicate that fish culture is at last beginning to receive the recognition and research that it deserves. With a greater demand for hatchery-reared fish each year, additional important advances are sure to take place