Invisible Markers Research Articles

The emotional labour of peer work: encountering stigma in mental healthcare spaces

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the workplace experiences of peer workers with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in mental healthcare settings in Australia. Our article is located at the intersection of political, social, cultural, and legislative forces that have fostered the development of peer work as a paid profession. We draw on the concept of stigma to analyse findings from qualitative interviews with peer workers conducted in [state], Australia. By examining peer work in the broader context of lifeworlds of BPD, we address the interplay of work and professional identity, and the experience of a profoundly stigmatised diagnosis at this intersection. Our findings demonstrate the physical and emotional effects of stigma and how it produces boundaries and inequalities between peer workers and other health practitioners. These boundaries are reinforced by invisible markers that delineate what is expected, ‘normal’ and deemed professional in the workplace. Moreover, these same medico-socio-political relations help shape peer workers’ identities and experiences. The development of peer workforces in mental healthcare service delivery is a prominent area of reform in Australia and internationally. Our research highlights the urgency of efforts to transform current socio-cultural-political relations that inhibit peer workers in their roles and impact workplace experiences.

Vision-Based Situational Graphs Exploiting Fiducial Markers for the Integration of Semantic Entities

Situational Graphs (S-Graphs) merge geometric models of the environment generated by Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) approaches with 3D scene graphs into a multi-layered jointly optimizable factor graph. As an advantage, S-Graphs not only offer a more comprehensive robotic situational awareness by combining geometric maps with diverse, hierarchically organized semantic entities and their topological relationships within one graph, but they also lead to improved performance of localization and mapping on the SLAM level by exploiting semantic information. In this paper, we introduce a vision-based version of S-Graphs where a conventional Visual SLAM (VSLAM) system is used for low-level feature tracking and mapping. In addition, the framework exploits the potential of fiducial markers (both visible and our recently introduced transparent or fully invisible markers) to encode comprehensive information about environments and the objects within them. The markers aid in identifying and mapping structural-level semantic entities, including walls and doors in the environment, with reliable poses in the global reference, subsequently establishing meaningful associations with higher-level entities, including corridors and rooms. However, in addition to including semantic entities, the semantic and geometric constraints imposed by the fiducial markers are also utilized to improve the reconstructed map’s quality and reduce localization errors. Experimental results on a real-world dataset collected using legged robots show that our framework excels in crafting a richer, multi-layered hierarchical map and enhances robot pose accuracy at the same time.

Development of a long-term fluorescent invisible marker using blue-emitting carbon dots

The development of novel anti-counterfeiting materials and technologies is vital in order to combat counterfeit activities, as existing technologies such as optical watermarking, micro-printing, laser holography, barcodes, RFID, and QR codes are widely known to counterfeiters and easily replicated. In particular, several challenges and issues, including high costs, low yields during synthesis, and the photo-bleaching effect associated with the use of luminescent materials in anti-counterfeiting applications are still need to be addressed. Carbon Dots (CDs) is a new emergent in carbon family with excellent luminescence properties. In this report, we describe a fast, cost-effective, and simple one-step heating method for synthesizing CDs. An invisible marker was produced by incorporating blue emitting CDs into the reservoir of a commercial sketch pen. The writings using the marker were not visible under normal light but emitted blue fluorescence under UV light (365 nm). The marker retained its fluorescence for up to six months without any decrease visible to the naked eye.

Does fiducial marker visibility impact task performance and information processing in novice and low-time pilots?

Invisible fiducial markers are introduced for localization of Areas Of Interest (AOIs) in mobile eye tracking applications. Fiducial markers are made invisible through the use of film passing Infra-Red (IR) light while blocking the visible spectrum. An IR light source is used to illuminate the markers which are then detected by an IR-sensitive camera, but which are imperceptible by the human eye. We provide the first empirical study that demonstrates such invisible markers are not distracting to a given task, as demonstrated in a flight simulator where distraction of visible and invisible markers are compared between experienced and novice pilots. Fixation frequency and subjective distraction scores showed that visible markers disrupted natural gaze behavior, particularly in novice pilots. Our findings show that invisible markers should be used when there is a need for them to remain inconspicuous.

Textureless Deformable Object Tracking with Invisible Markers.

Tracking and reconstructing deformable objects with little texture is challenging due to the lack of features. Here we introduce "invisible markers" for accurate and robust correspondence matching and tracking. Our markers are visible only under ultraviolet (UV) light. We build a novel imaging system for capturing videos of deformed objects under their original untouched appearance (which may have little texture) and, simultaneously, with our markers. We develop an algorithm that first establishes accurate correspondences using video frames with markers, and then transfers them to the untouched views as ground-truth labels. In this way, we are able to generate high-quality labeled data for training learning-based algorithms. We contribute a large real-world dataset, DOT, for tracking deformable objects with little or no texture. Our dataset has about one million video frames of various types of deformable objects. We provide ground truth tracked correspondences in both 2D and 3D. We benchmark state-of-the-art methods on optical flow and deformable object reconstruction using our dataset, which poses great challenges. By training on DOT, their performance significantly improves, not only on our dataset, but also on other unseen data.

An Indoor Location-Based Augmented Reality Framework.

This paper proposes an indoor location-based augmented reality framework (ILARF) for the development of indoor augmented-reality (AR) systems. ILARF integrates an indoor localization unit (ILU), a secure context-aware message exchange unit (SCAMEU), and an AR visualization and interaction unit (ARVIU). The ILU runs on a mobile device such as a smartphone and utilizes visible markers (e.g., images and text), invisible markers (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy, and NFC signals), and device sensors (e.g., accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers) to determine the device location and direction. The SCAMEU utilizes a message queuing telemetry transport (MQTT) server to exchange ambient sensor data (e.g., temperature, light, and humidity readings) and user data (e.g., user location and user speed) for context-awareness. The unit also employs a web server to manage user profiles and settings. The ARVIU uses AR creation tools to handle user interaction and display context-aware information in appropriate areas of the device's screen. One prototype AR app for use in gyms, Gym Augmented Reality (GAR), was developed based on ILARF. Users can register their profiles and configure settings when using GAR to visit a gym. Then, GAR can help users locate appropriate gym equipment based on their workout programs or favorite exercise specified in their profiles. GAR provides instructions on how to properly use the gym equipment and also makes it possible for gym users to socialize with each other, which may motivate them to go to the gym regularly. GAR is compared with other related AR systems. The comparison shows that GAR is superior to others by virtue of its use of ILARF; specifically, it provides more information, such as user location and direction, and has more desirable properties, such as secure communication and a 3D graphical user interface.

An observational simulation-based study of the accuracy of intercostal drain placement and factors influencing placement

South Africa's significant burden of trauma and respiratory disease requires the regular need for intercostal drain (ICD) insertion. ICD misplacement is associated with significant complications. The aim of this study was to assess ICD insertion site accuracy and the factors affecting accuracy by Emergency Department doctors. This was a prospective, observational simulation-based study. Prior to participant admission, pertinent thoracic structures were marked on two simulated patients using an invisible marker which could only be seen using ultraviolet light. One by one, study participants were then asked to place a sticker on each side of each patient's chest to indicate where they would insert an ICD. Sticker placements were photographed under ultraviolet light. Placement sites were compared according to the most appropriate and accurate position for insertion (within the area superior to the 6th rib, posterior to pectoralis major and 1cm anterior to the mid-axillary line) as well as the British Thoracic Society's 'triangle of safety'. Comparisons of accuracy were made between participant rank (junior vs senior doctor), participant experience, simulated patient BMI category and placement side. Insertion site was accurate in 47% of placements and within the 'triangle of safety' in 51% of placements. Improved accuracy was associated with greater participant experience (61% vs. 37%, p<0.01), and left-sided chest placement (54% vs 40%, p=0.02). No difference was found when comparing simulated patient BMI category (low vs high, 43% vs 51%, p=0.18) or participant rank (junior vs senior, 41% vs 51%, p=0.10). Overall accuracy of ICD insertion site was low, and appropriate accuracy was only associated with greater participant experience and left sided placement. Further studies to determine methods to improve ICD placement accuracy are needed.

Automatic data collection for object detection and grasp-position estimation with mobile robots and invisible markers

ABSTRACT Deep convolutional networks have dominated advances in object detection and grasp-position estimation using computer vision. The data-collection process for these networks is, however, time-consuming and expensive. We propose an automatic data-collection method for object detection and grasp-position estimation using mobile robots and invisible markers. Our method offers clear advantages over manual data annotation and synthetic data generation in terms of time consumption, cost, consistency, and similarity to real-world data. We compared data generated with our method against synthetically generated data to show how it can affect the robustness of the deep learning model when inferred under real-world conditions. We also conducted a comparison between our method and manual data-collection and synthetic-data-generation methods and demonstrated how our method could be used for data collection of asymmetric objects and key-point estimation tasks.

Pandemic Isolation in Belarus through the Perspective of Photographs

This photo essay examines the process of isolation during the first period of the COVID-19 pandemic based on the quarantine photos of a family from Belarus. It illustrates how the content and form of the collected images visualized the invisible markers of the pandemic and reflected various stages of isolation, transformations of the notion of home, and changes in family dynamics and routines. To collect the photographs, a weeklong remote participatory project was conducted. The findings of this project thus pointed to a direct correlation between photographs and changes in the social world and individuals’ lives brought about by the coronavirus outbreak.

Kurdish students’ perceptions of stigma and their destigmatization strategies in urban contexts in Turkey

ABSTRACT Contemporary literature has chiefly studied the Kurdish issue from a macro-political perspective. In this paper, we focus on ordinary Kurdish youth’s everyday responses to stigma and discrimination from the majority Turkish group and connect them to the macro-political context. Drawing on 29 qualitative in-depth interviews with Kurdish students in Izmir, we document that this group seeks to negotiate their belonging in the face of their characterizations as backward, terrorist, and disloyal. The findings suggest that these youth respond to stigmas, depending on contextual dynamics, by specific destigmatization strategies such as confronting, managing the self, assuming individual responsibility, and avoiding. We argue that ongoing armed conflict stigmatizes Kurds as separatists, and invisible markers between Kurds and Turks make hiding ethnicity the primary destigmatization strategy for Kurds.

STABILITY OF OPTICAL MARKERS ON IMAGES UNDER CONDITIONS OF EXTERNAL INTERFERENCES

This paper examines the influence of spatial changes and induced noise on the properties of optical markers applied to images. The programs, written in C# and Python languages, made it possible to apply optical markers to images using spatial, frequency and frequency-wavelet methods, to change the position of marked images and apply noise of different intensity to them, followed by reading the markers. It has been established that the simplest and most accessible method of spatial application, in which the marker is visible on the image, is at the same time the most reliable in the case of various deformations and damages of the marked image. This method can be effectively used in the case of video product protection, where the very fact of its attribution to one or another trademark or owner is important. The stability of the frequency method, which makes it possible to make an invisible marker, has been analyzed. This method, like the previous one, is resistant to image deformations, but even the simplest noise, which is Gaussian, can degrade the quality of reproduction. Moreover, as the intensity of the noise applied to the initial image increases, the quality of the reproduced marker deteriorates. It is shown that the frequency marking method can be used in information transmission systems in which the noise level does not exceed 3dB. The stability of the frequency-wavelet method, which is based on the use of different types of transformation of the initial image and the image of the marker, was also studied. This method is the most reliable in terms of protecting video information, because before merging, the image of the optical marker was transformed using discrete cosine transformations, and the data of the original image - with wavelet transformations. It turned out to be quite resistant to image rotations. However, with the appearance of Gaussian noise, even of insignificant intensity (0.8 dB), the disappearance of the marker is observed. Despite the need to use low-noise communication lines in this method, it can be recommended due to a number of advantages, which include high protection reliability, the ability to process dynamic objects, and the ability to reproduce the marker without the original image. Keywords: optical markers (digital signatures, watermarks), fast Fourier transformation, application of optical markers (spatial, frequency and frequency-wavelet methods), steganography, C#, Python.

Novel invisible markers for monitoring cracks on masonry structures

This paper presents a proof of concept for monitoring masonry structures using two different types of markers which are not easily noticeable by human eye but exhibit high reflection when subjected to NIR (near-infrared) wavelength of light. The first type is a retroreflective marker covered by a special tape that is opaque in visible light but translucent in NIR, while the second marker is a paint produced from infrared reflective pigments. The reflection of these markers is captured by a special camera-flash combination and processed using image processing algorithms. A series of experiments were conducted to verify their potential to monitor crack development. It is shown that the difference between the actual crack width and the measured was satisfactorily small. Besides that, the painted markers perform better than the tape markers both in terms of accuracy and precision, while their accuracy could be in the range of 0.05 mm which verifies its potential to be used for measuring cracks in masonry walls or plastered and painted masonry surfaces. The proposed method can be particularly useful for heritage structures, and especially for acute problems like foundation settlement. Another advantage of the method is that it has been designed to be used by non-technical people, so that citizen involvement is also possible in collecting data from the field.

A Study of Treatment of Lizard Phobia Using Visible and Invisible Marker-based AR Application

Augmented reality refers to the combination of computer-generated objects with real world environment. This technology is empowered by the evolution of hardware and software in the past decade. Virtual objects are placed through device screens in a user’s environment relying on the device camera and capability of graphics hardware. This advancement opens a wide horizon for application development in the field of entertainment, education, medical, etc.&#x0D; One of the main advantages of augmented reality (AR) is in the treatment of various phobias though exposure treatment. A phobia is characterized by irrational fear or reaction to a normal situation. Thus, gradually exposing patients to their phobias helps in reducing their uncontrolled reaction and aids in reducing their fear of their respective phobia. Herpetophobia is the extreme fear from aversion reptiles such as lizards. The lizard phobia is a common form of phobia amongst people.&#x0D; In this article, an application of lizard phobia exposure treatment is proposed to help patients. The proposed application relies on marker-based AR. This is implemented using Visible marker AR system (VMARS) and Invisible marker AR system (IMARS), comparing the results of both systems to a group a subject to identify the best approach for Herpetophobia treatment.

Heteroatom doped blue luminescent carbon dots as a nano-probe for targeted cell labeling and anticancer drug delivery vehicle

Herein, a simple and efficient method to fabricate nitrogen and sulphur doped photoluminescent carbon dots (C-dots) has been judiciously developed for targeting cancer cells. Advancement in newfangled imaging tool for cancer cells is a vital and highly trustworthy strategy for cancer therapy. The fluorescent C-dots prepared from κ-carrageenan and folic acid can serve as an efficient cargo for cancer cell labeling expressing the folate receptor on their surface. The prepared C-dots unveiled good water solubility, excellent photostability, and biocompatibility. The C-dots played the role of nano-vehicle for anticancer drug capecitabine under different pH environments. Also, C-dots were applied as invisible marker and finger print recovery applications. The folate receptor in C-dots led to amazing targetability of cancer cells and which embraces a great promise in biomedical studies.

Engfi Gate: An Indoor Guidance System using Marker-based Cyber-Physical Augmented-Reality

A guidance system is needed when freshmen explore their new building environment. With the advancements of mobile technologies, a guidance system using mobile computing devices such as mobile phones or tablets could aid freshmen in locating the desired destination with ease. The proposed system consists of three main subsystems: the marker-based cyber-physical interaction (CPI) system, the indoor positioning (IP) system, and the augmented-reality (AR) system. With the help of visible markers and invisible markers, the CPI system allows the users to do interactions between the physical and cyber environments; the IP system produces accurate user position information; the AR system provides the users with good user experiences. An Android application, named Engfi Gate, is developed to realize the system design in the test environment. This paper also shows the comparisons of the proposed system with other related systems. Furthermore, the design architecture of Engfi Gate system can be used in other location-based applications.

A Method to Compensate Head Movements for Mobile Eye Tracker Using Invisible Markers.

Although mobile eye-trackers have wide measurement range of gaze, and high flexibility, it is difficult to judge what a subject is actually looking at based only on obtained coordinates, due to the influence of head movement. In this paper, a method to compensate for head movements while seeing the large screen with mobile eye-tracker is proposed, through the use of NIR-LED markers embedded on the screen. The head movements are compensated by performing template matching on the images of view camera to detect the actual eye position on the screen. As a result of the experiment, the detection rate of template matching was 98.6%, the average distance between the actual eye position and the corrected eye position was approximately 16 pixels for the projected image (1920 x 1080).

4-7 不可視マーカ信号を用いた伝送映像の障害検出に関する検討

4-7 不可視マーカ信号を用いた伝送映像の障害検出に関する検討

不可視マーカを用いた位置・姿勢推定のための環境構築とユーザ位置・姿勢推定システム(「複合現実感4」特集)

不可視マーカを用いた位置・姿勢推定のための環境構築とユーザ位置・姿勢推定システム(「複合現実感4」特集)

Identification of Lumbar Intervertebral Space: Palpation versus Ultrasound Technique among Obese Subjects

Accurate identification of the intervertebral space (IVS) is necessary during central neuraxial blockade, especially in spinal anaesthesia, to avoid untoward spinal cord injury. Ultrasound guided examination has been shown to be more accurate compared to palpation, but these studies were performed on subjects of various body weights. We conducted our prospective observational study on obese subjects and compared the performance by anaesthesiologists of various levels of anaesthetic experience. Obese subjects with body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2 scheduled for elective surgery were recruited following explanation and written consent. With the subjects in the sitting position, an investigator located the L3-L4 IVS by ultrasound and used an invisible ultraviolet marker pen to mark the upper border, lower border and midpoint (“Point M”) of the space. Two anaesthesiologists of varying levels of experience, categorized as Performer 1 and Performer 2, then located the L3-L4 IVS by palpation. The distance between this point and Point M was measured and recorded. Thirty-two subjects with mean BMI 35.4±6.0 kg/m2 were recruited. The mean intervertebral distance at L3-L4 on ultrasound was 1.5 cm [range 1.2-1.8 cm]. By palpation, the L3-L4 IVS was correctly identified by 56.3%, while a higher IVS was mistaken to be L3-L4 by 23.4% of all performers. The space was correctly identified by 50% of junior anaesthesiologists and 62.5% of the senior counterparts. There was fair agreement between the two categories, with kappa = 0.375 and p = 0.028. In conclusion, there was a sizeable discrepancy between the anaesthesiologists’ estimation by palpation and the actual location of the L3-L4 IVS by ultrasound among obese subjects. This observation was in fair agreement among anaesthesiologists of various levels of anaesthetic experience. The ultrasound-guided technique is useful for better identification of lumbar IVS especially in obese subjects.

Why Do Women Still Not Make It to the Top? Dominant Organizational Ideologies and Biases by Promotion Committees Limit Opportunities to Destination Positions

Prior studies have made important strides in understanding the drivers of gender bias facing women at the top. Yet, relatively little is known about the intra-organizational power dynamics of how and why these patterns still persist despite a plethora of initiatives to redress the phenomenon over the last several decades. This paper develops an intra-organizational power perspective on the dynamics of promotion bias to destination positions. We propose that social dominance emerges as social categorization based on a candidate’s visible and invisible markers leads to distorted perceptions and stereotyping which, when combined with group favoritism and conformity pressures within committee practices, engender the perceived degree of ideological asymmetry between the candidate and the organization. It is the magnitude of the perceived degree of ideological asymmetry that drives promotion bias. This bias has potent effects on the institutionalization of power over time. Our perspective ultimately offers new insights into the role of dominant organizational ideology and dynamics of biases that continue to limit promotion opportunities of women to destination positions.