The beta 1 version installer was produced this morning. There were a couple of last minute fixes. A bug fix to the auto-metronome. The copyright date was moved to 2014. The users guide was updated.
The Imaging Whiteboard is done. I’ve added every feature I can think of, fixed every bug I know about. 3.0.5 is the final version.
So, what is the next project?
Obviously, I asked ChatGPT.
Me:
“My name is Steve Weavers; my personal web site is http://sound-analysis.com/ . I am responsible for The Musicians Workbench and The Imaging Whiteboard. I have just completed the Imaging Whiteboard. I am looking for ideas for my next project. What do you think I should tackle?”
Here is what it said:
“Hi Steve! It’s great to hear that you’ve completed the Imaging Whiteboard. As for your next project, there are many directions you could go in. Here are a few ideas to consider:
Music notation software: If you enjoy working on music-related projects, creating a software tool that makes it easier for musicians to notate their compositions could be a valuable resource for the community.
Audio editing software: Building an audio editing software could be a complex but rewarding project. You could focus on a specific niche, such as podcast editing, or create a comprehensive tool that covers all aspects of audio editing.
Virtual instrument plugin: If you have experience with music production software, developing a virtual instrument plugin could be a fun challenge. This could involve creating realistic-sounding emulations of real instruments, or coming up with entirely new and unique sounds.
Music recommendation engine: With so much music available online, it can be overwhelming for listeners to discover new artists and albums. Creating a recommendation engine that uses machine learning algorithms to suggest music based on a user’s listening history could be a valuable tool for music lovers.
Audio analysis tool: Given your background in sound analysis, creating a tool that helps users analyze audio files could be a natural fit. This could involve developing algorithms to identify key features of the audio, such as tempo, key, and tonality.
I hope these ideas give you some inspiration for your next project!”
Me:
“Those were excellent suggestions. Do you have any ideas for imaging projects?”
“Certainly, here are some ideas for imaging projects you could consider:
Image recognition software: Developing software that uses machine learning algorithms to recognize and identify objects within images could be a valuable tool for a range of industries, from healthcare to security.
Image processing software: Creating software that enhances or alters images could be a fun and creative project. You could focus on specific effects, such as color correction or noise reduction, or create a comprehensive tool that covers a range of editing capabilities.
Virtual reality experiences: With the increasing popularity of virtual reality technology, creating immersive visual experiences could be a rewarding project. This could involve creating 360-degree images or videos, or developing interactive VR games.
Image compression algorithms: Developing algorithms to compress image files without compromising their quality could be a valuable resource for a range of industries, from web development to photography.
Augmented reality applications: Building applications that overlay virtual objects or information onto real-world images could be a fun and innovative project. This could involve creating educational tools or marketing applications for businesses.
I hope these ideas provide some inspiration for your next imaging project!”
That’s brilliant! The Audio analysis tool might be a good challenge. What do you think?
Using the MNIST database of handwritten digits MNIST database – Wikipedia a convolutional neural network was trained to an accuracy of 90%. This took 50 epochs.
The trained model was loaded into the Image Classifier control and used to identify handwritten digits.
The files required to reproduce this demo are available here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XKSYvJfAW1maNsaiV0iaWZXor0Tbtuat/view?usp=share_link
This release will include AI functionality. This will include a new tool which will allow the user to design a Convolutional Neural Network, to train and test this network and to save the network at any stage.
There will be a new control an Image Classifier that will use trained models to classify images. There are enhancements to existing controls to support the preparation of training data and using the classifier in the whiteboard.
The user should have a broad understanding of Convolutional Neural Network structures, but unlike other scripting tools is not required to understand the mathematics that underpin this technology. The user is not required to write any code or script. Every part of the process, from preparing the training data to deploying the network, is performed graphically using the Imaging Whiteboard and the CNN Configuration tool.
I am currently in the final stages of testing and documentation.
Here is a screen shot of the CNN Configurator taken during training.
The new blob counter control in the Imaging Whiteboard (2.5.7) can be used for more advanced image analysis algorithms.
Here we see an image of M&Ms and we want to know how many blue ones are visible. The threshold control is used to separate the blue component of the image. The morphology controls are used to filter out spurious noise and partially visible M&Ms. The blob counter will identify the blobs and allow the user to select the blobs or interest. The selected blobs count is the answer.
Version 2.5.7 includes new image analysis controls including a corner detector. This control implements the Harris corner detector algorithm, described here Harris corner detector – Wikipedia
Here we can see the traditional test image Lenna with significant image features identified.
A new Blob Counter control has been added to the Imaging Whiteboard. This control will allow the user to identify and count blobs within an image.
A live image will be displayed with the total number of blobs displayed dynamically.
Freezing the image will allow the user to select individual blobs which will be identified by outline and ID in the display image.
The Game of Life algorithm is described here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_Game_of_Life
This control will allow the game of Life to be run on an input image or test pattern. This is an example of emergence https://theconversation.com/emergence-the-remarkable-simplicity-of-complexity-30973
The following sequence shows successive iterations gaining in complexity. The first iteration where live cells exist on the edges of the seed image is predictable, subsequent iterations are not predictable (although they are reproducible). This sequence will run for more than 2000 iterations before becoming stable.
Here we can see the results of two methods applied to the same image shown on the monitor simultaneously. The split screen feature will be available in version 2.5 of the Imaging Whiteboard.
Noise is added to the image and the set memory control will write the noisy image to the secondary memory. The temporal filter is applied to the primary memory. Swap memory switches the primary and secondary memories. The 3×3 median filter is applied. The monitor shows the primary image (morphology result) on the left, and the secondary (temporal filter) on the right.
White noise will contain all frequencies. By applying filters to white noise and viewing the resulting spectrum the effects can be viewed. Here we see the test signal generator producing white noise on 2 channels and the resulting spectrum. The high pass filter is applied to the signal and the resulting spectrum with low frequencies eliminated is shown. The low pass filter is then applied eliminating the high frequencies.
Tracking a target in a raw image may not provide the best tracking performance in all cases. Often tracking a target in a processed image is better. The pre-processing may be edge detection such as a Sobel filter (shown here), or setting a threshold, noise filtering etc.
Using the Set Memory control the original image is saved to memory. The pre-processing (convolution) is performed on the main pixels. The target is tracked in the processed image, but the crop that is passed to the next control is extracted from the image in memory (if it exists). The type of pre-processing will vary depending on the video used.