Automatic gain control in the echolocation system of dolphins

In bats and technological sonars, the gain of the receiver is progressively increased with time after the transmission of a signal to compensate for acoustic propagation loss. The current understanding of dolphin echolocation indicates that automatic gain control is not a part of their sonar system. In order to test this understanding, we have performed field measurements of free-ranging echolocating dolphins. Here we show that dolphins do possess an automatic gain control mechanism, but that it is implemented in the transmission phase rather than the receiving phase of a sonar cycle. We find that the amplitude of the dolphins' echolocation signals are highly range dependent; this amplitude increases with increasing target range, R, in a 20 log(R) fashion to compensate for propagation loss. If the echolocation target is a fish school with many sound scatterers, the echoes from the school will remain nearly constant with range as the dolphin closes in on it. This characteristic has the same effect as time-varying gain in bats and technological sonar when considered from a sonar system perspective.     

Correlation between echolocation calls and morphological features among three kinds of bats

The correlation between echolocation sound and morphological features of 18 species of bats, which are subordinated to 3 families including rhinolophidae, hipposideridae and vespertilionidae is studied. Pearson's correlation and regression analysis are adopted to analyze the correlations between noseleaf width (NW) and forearm length (FAL), NW and dominant frequency (DF), FAL and DF. The results show a positive correlation between NW and FAL and a negative correlation between NW and DF in Rhinolophidae. In each family, there is a negative correlation between FAL and DF. Some species have a higher or lower frequency than predicted one according to their body size. There are significant differences of the regression equation of FAL and DF among the three families. For the bats with the same body size, the order in frequency is: hipposiderid bats＞ rhinolophid bats＞ vespertilionid bats. The mechanism of interrelationship between FAL and DF of bats, the reason why these deviations occur in correlativity of the three families and the mechanism of the interaction between morphological, physiological and ecological characteristics are discussed.     

Tracking an object through feature space

Visual attention allows an observer to select certain visual information for specialized processing. Selection is readily apparent in 'tracking' tasks where even with the eyes fixed, observers can track a target as it moves among identical distractor items. In such a case, a target is distinguished by its spatial trajectory. Here we show that one can keep track of a stationary item solely on the basis of its changing appearance--specified by its trajectory along colour, orientation, and spatial frequency dimensions--even when a distractor shares the same spatial location. This ability to track through feature space bears directly on competing theories of attention, that is, on whether attention can select locations in space, features such as colour or shape, or particular visual objects composed of constellations of visual features. Our results affirm, consistent with a growing body of psychophysical and neurophysiological evidence, that attention can indeed select specific visual objects. Furthermore, feature-space tracking extends the definition of visual object to include not only items with well defined spatio-temporal trajectories, but also those with well defined featuro-temporal trajectories.     

基于层级卷积特征通道注意的目标跟踪方法

提出了一种基于层级卷积特征通道自适应注意的目标跟踪方法,拟利用卷积特征的低层特征以刻画目标丰富的空间结构信息,同时采用高层特征较好地捕获目标的语义信息.特别地,还提出了一种基于能量描述的通道自适应注意机制,能够有效地利用深度特征不同通道的信息来定位目标.通过在两个数据集上的大量实验表明:所提出的方法在准确率和召回率上,都优于多个现有主流跟踪方法.     

基于区域综合特征的图像检索方法

提出一种基于目标区域综合特征的图像检索方法,通过把图像分割为若干区域,然后提取区域的颜色、纹理、形状特征,在提取区域特征的基础上再进行区域匹配,然后进行检索和性能分析．实验结果表明,在基于目标区域的图像检索中,在查全率一查准率性能上,综合特征检索要比单一特征检索性能更好．     

基于区域综合特征的图像检索方法

提出一种基于目标区域综合特征的图像检索方法,通过把图像分割为若干区域,然后提取区域的颜色、纹理、形状特征,在提取区域特征的基础上再进行区域匹配,然后进行检索和性能分析．实验结果表明,在基于目标区域的图像检索中,在查全率一查准率性能上,综合特征检索要比单一特征检索性能更好．     

基于二维成像的三维物体形状特征分析

目前三维物体识别方法在识别过程中所需数据量大、难以实用。该文简化三维物体识别过程,构建了一个基于单视点二维投影图像的三维物体识别系统。分别选取Zernike矩、基于Trace变换的Triple特征、MSA等三种形状特征,实现了对物体的视点空间的聚类划分。在普林斯顿三维模型库上,通过分类识别实验分析三种形状特征的性能。实验表明:特征对不同类别物体的分类效果差异明显。该文由此提出了针对目标物体形状及应用环境的特征选取方案。     

Force can overcome object geometry in the perception of shape through active touch

Haptic (touch) perception normally entails an active exploration of object surfaces over time. This is called active touch. When exploring the shape of an object, we experience both geometrical and force cues. For example, when sliding a finger across a surface with a rigid bump on it, the finger moves over the bump while being opposed by a force whose direction and magnitude are related to the slope of the bump. The steeper the bump, the stronger the resistance. Geometrical and force cues are correlated, but it has been commonly assumed that shape perception relies on object geometry alone. Here we show that regardless of surface geometry, subjects identified and located shape features on the basis of force cues or their correlates. Using paradoxical stimuli, for example combining the force cues of a bump with the geometry of a hole, we found that subjects perceived a bump. Conversely, when combining the force cues of a hole with the geometry of a bump, subjects typically perceived a hole.     

甘肃中部蛇苔(Conocephalum conicum (L.) Dum)表皮特征与稳定碳同位素组成沿海拔的变化

为了解苔藓植物对环境变化的反应,采集了甘肃中部地区不同海拔的蛇苔植物( Conocephalum conicum(L.)Dum),分析了它的叶状体稳定碳同位素组成(δ13C值)和叶状体表皮特征.结果表明:蛇苔植物δ13C值的范围为-32.399‰～-29.497‰,随着海拔的升高而变大;叶状体表皮细胞面积和空气孔面积均随着海拔的升高而减小.相关分析表明:叶状体δ13C、表皮细胞面积和密度、空气孔面积与海拔的相关性都达到了显著水平(P＜0.05).